The Righteous and the Wicked
by Orion in the Sky
Summary: AU. With Harry's fifth year comes the exposure of secrets that have been desperately kept. How far will his adversaries go to keep him in the dark? New allies are found and friendships are solidified as formerly trusted people show their true colours.
1. The Beginning

_**Story Title:** The Righteous and the Wicked_

_**Chapter Title:** One – The Beginning_

_**Author:** Orion in the Sky _

_**Summary:** With Harry's fifth year comes the exposure of secrets that have been desperately kept. How far will Harry's adversaries go to keep him in the dark? New allies are found and friendships are solidified as people formerly deemed trustworthy show their true colors._

_**Warnings (this chapter):** Alternate universe, non-graphic slash (Remus/Sirius), character death(s), an OC, and three seconds of an uncommon pairing. _

_**When it Begins:** After Sirius played The Prank on Snape but before James and Lily get together. Sirius and Remus have broken up because of the prank and the Marauders are growing further and further apart as the days pass. (This is one of very few chapters that will show the past in detail.)_

_**Disclaimer:** I have no affiliation with anyone who has any claim to anything related to Harry Potter._

* * *

_November, 1976 – Lily and the Marauders' Sixth Year_

"Hey, Evans! Did you see that last goal I made?" yelled a drunk James Potter from across the common room. Lily Evans, also drunk, rolled her eyes.

"Go bother someone else, Potter!" she yelled back. She normally wouldn't have indulged quite so much, but the win against Slytherin came as a very large (yet pleasant) surprise.

Well, pleasant for everyone but the Slytherins, that is.

"Sorry, Prongs, looks like Evans isn't falling for your charms today," said James's best mate and top partner-in-crime, Sirius Black. His tone was far from sympathetic—being as drunk as (or possibly more than) James, he thought Lily's reply was quite possibly the funniest thing he had ever heard. Merlin knows that he needed _something_ to be funny right about then. Whether Gryffindor had won or not, Sirius's performance in that day's match had been well below average. The reason for his dismal performance went unsaid amongst the Marauders, as the same issue had been causing friction between Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs for nearly two months.

Sirius was still being blatantly ignored by Remus Lupin, and that hurt more than any bludger he may have let hit him during the game. He had made a mistake—tried to play a prank that he now knew wasn't at all funny—and it cost him the best relationship he'd ever had. After two months of begging and pleading, Sirius had resigned himself the fact that Remus had simply given up on the black-haired aristocrat who had messed up the werewolf's life one too many times. The fact that the two couldn't share a conversation anymore caused problems between not only themselves, but also the other members of the formerly close group.

"Shut it, Padfoot. It's not like you're ace at dealing with love either," said James.

"It's not love," said Sirius passively, not noticing the throbbing vein in James's forehead.

"Prongs," warned Peter, recognizing the less-than-friendly undertone of James's words. The last thing the barely together group needed was a fight between the two closest members.

"In fact," continued James, ignoring Peter altogether, "you couldn't even keep Moony for more than—"

"That's enough!" yelled Sirius. He gave James a venomous glare before storming out. The common room quieted as people turned to stare.

"What did you do to him, Potter?" asked Lily angrily. "You couldn't think of enough horrible things to yell at him during the game?" Lily, whose knowledge of recent events was only missing the fact that three of the Marauders were Animagi, couldn't help but feel a small amount of pity for Sirius. He had been so—so _off_, lately, and a Hogwarts without a bouncing-off-the-walls Sirius was just _wrong_ (even if the reprieve had been welcome at first). She didn't think that spilling Remus's secret should be something he could get off scot-free for, but the guy was so depressed lately…

Feeling bad for him and worried over his defeated manner, Lily followed Sirius out of the portrait hole. By the time she caught up with him he was on the top floor in an empty, dusty classroom.

"Black?" she asked as she sat down clumsily next to him. _I am going to have the _worst_ hangover tomorrow…_

"Do y'wanna yell at me too, Evans?" asked Sirius, not looking at her. When she didn't answer, he turned to her. She looked so _concerned_ (and _drunk_, he thought in the back of his mind), that he just started to talk.

"Remus still won't talk ta me," he said glumly, "and James 'n me fight _all the time_ now, and Peter's started to hang out with some Hoofle—Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, because we're all jus' fightin' and he's not much for conflict…"

Lily just let the desolate man talk, giving him comfort when he sought it from her. An hour later the two returned to the common room where the suspicious glances of James, Remus, and some of Lily's friends awaited them.

The next morning she awoke with a throbbing headache, along with the unfortunate realization that the rest of the night was a total blur.

* * *

_December, 1976 – The Day Before the Christmas Holidays Begin_

"Black!" Lily shouted sharply. Sirius and the rest of the Marauders had just returned from their last class, and Sirius felt like a happy and worry-free man. James and Sirius were well on their way to becoming as close as they had been, Remus would say a few words to him now and then, and Peter was around more than he had been during the worst of the fighting. Sirius turned around and found Lily looking angry, distracted and worried.

"Yes, Evans?" asked Sirius warily, reluctant to have his mood broken. The two had been skirting around each other since the day of the last quidditch match. Both had enough vague memories to be heartily mortified and regretful.

"I need to talk to you. Privately." James raised his eyebrows at Sirius and Remus and Peter wore questioning looks on their faces.

"… Okay. Lead the way." Sirius followed Lily as James and the rest went up to the their room.

Lily found the closest empty classroom and cast so many privacy spells that Sirius couldn't help but let his jaw drop.

"Do you remember what happened after the game against Slytherin?" she asked.

"No… Yes… Sort of, I think." Lily didn't say anything, so he continued in the direction that he thought the conversation was going. "Look, I didn't mean anything by it, and I don't really date girls anymore, so—"

"Oh, honestly, Black, I'm not asking you for a date!" she snapped.

"You're not?"

"_No_!"

"You don't have to get so defensive, Evans," said Sirius with a slight smirk. Lily's face was red and he assumed that she was embarrassed. "There are a lot of people in this school who have fallen for my charms; it's understandable, as I am a _very_ attractive—"

"Black! You are the most _repulsive_—"

"Okay, okay, you don't want a date… What _do_ you want?"

"… Christ, I'm _pregnant_, you idiot." Sirius had enough presence of mind to not ask if it was his; he highly doubted that Lily slept around enough for him to question the kid's paternity.

'_The kid… a baby… my baby. Lily and mine's BABY. Lily Evans is carrying a kid that's half mine. James's Lily is carrying _my_ kid. I don't want a kid! I'm not even seventeen yet…'_

"How…?" he asked weakly. It still wasn't completely comprehensible.

"_Well_, when two people are incomprehensibly drunk and one is equally as depressed—"

"I know the mechanics," he snapped, "but how could you be _pregnant_?"

"D'you think that either of us was in a state to cast a contraceptive charm? And I certainly don't sleep with people on a regular basis, so I'm not on any potions regimen."

"Well what are you going to do? Get rid of it?"

"You can't do that!" shouted another voice.

"Potter," growled Lily softly. "What the hell—"

"Look, I'm sorry, but I was worried about Sirius… and you," said the disembodied voice of James Potter. He pulled off his invisibility cloak (causing Lily gasp with surprise before she narrowed her eyes).

"You don't have any right to—I should memory charm you!"

"I'm not going to tell anyone," said James indignantly.

"How am I to know that?"

James then did something that Lily didn't expect. "I, James Charlus Potter, do hereby swear on my magic to never reveal what I have learned in this classroom on this day to a single soul without the approval of Lily Meredith Evans." A white light surrounded him after he finished. He was so shocked, Sirius didn't even take the time to marvel at James knowing Lily's full name (_which really shouldn't have been a surprise_, he thought later, _the poor bloke had it bad_).

"James—"

"Lily, you can't abort the baby," said James seriously. He may have been a prankster and somewhat irresponsible, but he couldn't stomach the idea.

"I'm not going to," said Lily. "Which is what I would have told Black if you hadn't interrupted," she added, glaring at both of them.

"What's your plan, then?" asked James.

"I don't have one. Yet."

James resolved that he would help Lily and Sirius as much as he could, even if Evans hated him and his best mate didn't seem to care all that much about what Lily had said.

* * *

James came back in January with a plan that had come to him on Christmas Eve, during his parents' annual party. Sirius, who now lived with them, had asked that James's parents invite the only people in the Black family he could stand—his Uncle Alphard, his cousin Andromeda, and Andromeda's husband and daughter. At the party Andromeda had made an offhand comment that she and Ted eventually wanted more children. Later, he had heard Mrs. Tonks telling his mother that she had some trouble when little Nymphadora was born and things didn't look good for a second child.

'_And adoption in the wizarding world, with the right rituals, is just like having your own child. Lily's baby will be a Tonks—if Andromeda and Ted want it. And if Lily wants to let someone adopt it._

'_Perhaps I need to ask before I plan this out any more.'_

* * *

_January 1977_

"What do you think of adoption?" asked James. He had politely asked Lily to talk with him privately, and Sirius had met them in an empty classroom.

"I'm not sure," said Lily. She sighed sadly. "I don't want to make this decision… Even if she—"

"_She_?"

"Yes, _she_. I'm of age; I performed some charms over break… I suppose adoption is one of the best options. I'm only in my sixth year, and I can't just leave and come back, can I?"

"Sirius?" asked James, looking at his silent friend.

"Whatever you'd like, Lily," he replied, looking at the floor. "I don't know anything about babies, what to do with them, or anything like that. If you want to keep it, I'll try to help, and if you want to let someone adopt it then I'll give my consent." Lily and James each had surprised looks on their faces—Sirius seemed to have thought this out. "I took some time over hols to think about this."

"Oh," said Lily. "Well, I'll—I'll have to think about it, James."

"All right. I heard my mum talking with Andromeda Tonks—Sirius's cousin, the disowned one, she graduated before we started here—and they want another kid, but they're having a hard time with it. I thought that we—er, you two, I mean—could approach them about it, see if they're interested and whatnot. And if they are, then we'll need to talk to Dumbledore about it, right? 'Cause he's the Headmaster?"

Lily nodded and left.

'_James gets more surprising every day, doesn't he?'_

* * *

_Albus Dumbledore's Office – February 1977_

"Professor McGonagall said that you asked to see me, Miss Evans?"

Lily nodded at her headmaster. McGonagall had been upset that the sixth-year hadn't wanted to talk to her head of house about whatever was troubling her, but ultimately gave Lily the password to Dumbledore's office.

"Sir, there's a… Well, this is very hard to talk about…" She held a long pause, but with a sigh finally admitted "I'm pregnant."

Lily would forever remember the look on Dumbledore's face. For once he seemed surprised, and then disappointed and sympathetic. She gave him the barest details—when she was due, who the father was, and what her plans for the baby were—and he, just as to be expected, offered to help however he could.

Over the next few months, Lily, James, and Sirius continually met. She didn't know quite how it happened, but James seemed to be as much a part of the situation as she and Sirius were... perhaps even more than Sirius was, to be honest.

One day, she found herself wishing that he were the father of her daughter. Immediately she shook her head and seriously considered asking someone to obliviate her. James Potter, the father of her child? _Please_.

'_Though I can say the same about Sirius, can't I? Of all the unexpected things to happen…'_

During the Easter holidays, Lily and James accompanied Sirius to visit Andromeda, Ted, and four-year-old Dora. Sirius asked Ted and Andromeda to speak with him, privately, leaving 'Prongs and Tiger Lily' (as they had been dubbed upon arrival) to play with Dora in the informal sitting room of the Tonks' home.

Later, Ted and Andromeda walked out of the other room, followed by Sirius.

"Sirius told us about your situation," said Andromeda. "If you are willing, we would love to adopt the baby." Lily nodded. She hadn't expected them to accept.

"That's… great."

"Lily, I'm a Healer at St. Mungo's," said Ted, "and Sirius said that so far you've been doing all of the tests yourself. If it's all right with you, I'd like to perform some tests myself, just to be safe."

"Um, yes, okay." Ted stood up and pulled some parchment from the desk in the room. He then chanted a long string of Latin, causing pink ball of light to attach itself to the end of his wand. It grew to the size of tennis ball before he tapped his wand on the parchment. The light disappeared and the parchment was filled with the results of the test he had run.

"One baby, a girl, and she's perfectly healthy in every way. There are some more tests that are conducted with spell, and all of the results are on this parchment," he said, handing over the document. Lily looked at the document, trying to ignore the longing she felt for the child. _'This is what's best… Right?'_

* * *

Lily's daughter, whom she had privately taken to calling Daisy, was due on August 29th. On July 15th she received two separate invitations to spend the last part of summer before school away from home. One was from the Tonks family, and one was from James.

James's parents had fallen ill in May, and as they were much older than most other students' parents were it wasn't entirely unexpected. They passed in the beginning of June, and James was excused from exams that year. Lily knew that he was home, alone, and decided that she would feel more comfortable at June's Lake (James's parents' home) than with the Tonks family, who she didn't know very well.

It was a relief to be somewhere else. At the Evans' house Lily's sister had been degrading her nonstop, leaving Lily to wonder what Petunia would have said if she'd known about the baby. Lily was also tired from maintaining a concealment charm on her heavier size twenty-four hours each day. And, you know, she was also eight months pregnant. At James's house she could let the spell drop, spend hours reading the unique collection of books in the library, and have surprisingly stimulating conversations with her host. She was thirty-eight weeks along when Sirius flooed in, looking nervous.

"Lily, I'd… Well, you know about Remus and me?"

"Yes…"

"Well… I think we might get back together, but before we do, I think I should tell him. About the baby."

"Oh. Er… Okay? I mean, I trust Remus, so, well… But you're only going to tell him, yeah?"

"Yes. Only him."

"Peter couldn't keep a secret to save his life," said James after a moment. He laughed slightly and Sirius flooed out with a tentative smile. Three hours later Remus came over and saw Lily without her concealment charm. His reaction was not wholly expected—to hear it from James, Remus 'acted like a right girl, chattering about names and other gooey baby stuff.'

Lily was glad that she had another friend to confide in, and it showed. She hadn't told any of her female friends. She might've told her two closest friends, a set of half-blood twins, but they been withdrawn from school and brought into hiding by their father after Lord Voldemort had ordered their Muggle mother killed. She felt that she couldn't trust any other people, and she knew not to share it with anyone else. Remus had been her friend since first year, and although she appreciated James and Sirius's support it was nice to have an old friend around.

* * *

_August 31, 1977_

"She's beautiful," said Lily as looked at her newborn daughter. She was ten days late, but perfect. She had dark red hair, almond-shaped eyes (that, although they were blue at the moment, everyone strongly suspected that they would be green soon). The rest of her was 'pure Black,' according to Andromeda. Ted had delivered her. Andromeda had been in the room while James, Sirius, and Remus had waited outside.

"That she is," said Andromeda, who was holding the little girl.

"Have you—have you chosen a name?" asked Lily. _Please say no, please say no… Her name is Daisy…_

"Nashira," said Andromeda fondly. She then glanced at Lily, who looked a little sad. Andromeda looked thoughtful for a moment. "Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to choose her middle name?"

"Oh… Andromeda, that would be lovely!" Lily immediately suggested Daisy with a hopeful look. Ted's face went into a smile, and Andromeda smiled as well.

"I love it," said Andromeda, and Ted agreed. "Nashira Daisy Tonks."

* * *

With Dumbledore's governmental experience and Ted's Healing experience it was almost too easy to create a false birth certificate for Nashira. The real one was hidden in the Potter family vault, and the only people who would find it there would be any children of James and Lily's, once they came of age. As it had already been decided that James, Lily, Ted, and Andromeda would tell Nashira (and any future half-siblings she might have) the truth sometime before she came of age, this didn't present a problem. The certificate for Nashira Daisy Black was buried under a pile of older Potter family papers, not to be seen for almost two decades.

The only issue arose in James, Lily, and Sirius's small amount of knowledge of adoption rituals. For the most comprehensive one to be performed the child's biological parents would have to be dead and the child's former identity would have to be on file at the Ministry. Since this wasn't an option, no ritual was used. Andromeda felt that if the girl continued to look like Sirius—and, arguably, like her adoptive mother—then it wouldn't be a big deal. Lily piped in that red hair was a recessive gene and that no immediate redheads could easily be explained. Unfortunately, her mention of genes and recessive genes started a quick discussion on heredity, which ended before it began because no one was in the mood to have it.

Thanks to the wonders of magical healing, Lily was ready to go to school the next day. Her seventh year seemed to pass by in a blur. It led to many great things—a romance with a former rival, being named Head Girl, Outstanding grades on her N.E.W.T.s, and, eventually, a wedding that took place not one year after the birth of her daughter, where little Dora was the flower girl.

Lily, along with her husband and his closest friends, quickly became involved in the war that was tearing apart the wizarding world. Soon after their marriage ceremony the Potters were approached by Dumbledore himself. He asked them to join the Order of the Phoenix, and they accepted heartily. Lily entered the Department of Spell Creation and Refinement in the Ministry (focusing in Charms) and James started Healer training. James was apprenticed to Ted, though not through the efforts of either man. It gave both families a good reason to hang out, and James and Lily became like a second set of godparents to Dora and Nashira ('Nasha' for short).

The group eventually evolved to include a larger group of Ministry and St. Mungo's employees. Besides Ted, Andromeda, James, and Lily, there was Sirius (an Auror trainee), Remus (who had a job in a Muggle bookstore), Peter (a Ministry temp), two more Aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Kingsley Shacklebolt (Ted's best friend from his time as a Ravenclaw and Nashira's godfather), Gideon Prewett (one of Ted and James' coworkers), Fabian Prewett (Gideon's brother and another Auror), Marlene McKinnon (Gideon's long-time girlfriend who was a secretary in the DMLE), and Dorcas Meadowes (Fabian's sometimes-girlfriend that the rest met through the Order).

It was at one of the group's frequent get-togethers that James and Lily announced their biggest piece of news.

* * *

_December 15, 1979_

The fifteen men and women (and two children) were in Gideon and Marlene's flat. Dora, who was almost seven, was reading a comic book, and Kingsley was playing games with the two-year-old Nashira. The rest of the group couldn't help but laugh at the large man's baby talk.

"I don't see what's so funny," Kingsley defended himself.

"It's just… people wouldn't expect it from you, that's all," replied Dorcas with a smile. "You're kind of intimidating, sometimes."

"Intimidating? How in the world would you come to that impression?" asked James sarcastically. "He's only twice the size of everyone else, and _bald_." Kingsley laughed, remembering running across James in his first year. The Ravenclaw prefect had tried to help the young boy find his way to class but the boy had run away, terrified.

Lily waited for people that conversation to slow before nudging James. "We have an announcement," she said to the group during a lull. Everyone was instantly attentive.

"We're going to have a baby!" said James, beaming. He kissed his wife as the group celebrated.

"Gid, where's your firewhisky?" said Sirius. He, Remus, and Peter had already known but he had no problem re-enacting his earlier reaction to the news (which was, of course, to drink heartily and toast the Potters). Marlene laughed and grabbed some firewhisky and sparkling cider to celebrate with. After about an hour the celebration was winding down. Dora was getting cranky and Nashira was already asleep, though from the time Lily and James had announced the newest Potter's pending arrival she'd been passed through three more people, finally ending up with James.

"I don't want to stop at the store with Nasha asleep and Dora tired enough to throw fits," said Ted. "We have enough diapers to last until tomorrow, yeah?" he asked Andromeda.

"No, we're completely out," his wife replied. "I said that before we left, which is why I wanted to leave early." She had tried to get her family early enough to stop at the store on the way to Gideon and Marlene's but getting two little girls ready to leave had taken too long.

"I'll help one of you get the girls home," offered Dorcas, who had been hovering nearby, "and the other can go to the store, okay?"

"That'd be great," said Andromeda. Ted said he'd walk to the closest open place near Gideon and Marlene's flat, get what they needed, and then meet his wife and kids at home. The group said their good-byes, left, and Andromeda said goodbye to her friend and quickly put her kids to bed. She waited for Ted to come home. Much later than she'd been expecting him, she heard a knock on the door.

'_Who would be knocking on the door? It's nearly twelve… No. Ted's fine, he's just late. Actually, I bet that's him, he's probably just forgotten his key. Yes. He's forgotten his key.'_

Andromeda grabbed her wand and opened the door. Instead of Ted, she saw Frank, Alice, and one other man in Auror robes. They all looked solemn.

"Frank? Alice?" she asked. The two had refrained from drinking at the party because they had to be on duty that night. "What are you doing here?"

"Andromeda, can we come in?" asked Frank. The news was terrible, and it pained Frank greatly to share it. Death Eaters had killed Ted, right at the apparition point near their home. He had been one of six witches and wizards slain that night.

* * *

After it became apparent that Andromeda was not fit to watch her children all on her own, she moved into the Potters' home, June's Lake. It was smaller than the Potter ancestral manor, but it easily fit two families. Andromeda took time off work and, for the most part, sequestered herself in the guest suite she shared with her daughters. Lily started working from home and spent most of her day balancing work, Dora's schooling, and minding Nasha (along with dealing with her pregnancy).

The funeral was quietly held. Surprisingly, some members of Andromeda's family showed up. Narcissa, with her husband, and Andromeda's parents came, as did Bellatrix. It was only after the funeral that the reason for their presence was explained. After Narcissa, Lucius, Druella (her mother), and Cygnus (her father) had left, Bellatrix wandered over to Andromeda. Bellatrix reached out and put a cold hand on her sister's arm.

"Dear Andie, I was _so sorry_ to hear of poor Ted's death."

"Thank you, Bellatrix," said Andromeda roughly, though Bellatrix was already turning her gaze to Dora and Nashira.

"Really, though, what was a mudblood doing out so late, and by himself? You really must have your family take care, dear sister. You and your children are, of course, next. Half-bloods and blood traitors will not be welcome in the New World. Watch your back, Andie."

"Get out," growled Sirius, who had come over. "Get out, and don't talk to us again." Bellatrix smirked and walked away, waving one hand behind her. "I'll kill her," said Sirius. "I will break every bone in her—"

"Not now," hissed Alice, who wrapped an arm around Andromeda, and led her out to the car. Frank was trying to entertain Dora, and James was holding Nashira, who had fallen asleep. The group went into the expanded car and rode, almost silently, back to June's Lake. As soon as they arrived Andromeda excused herself.

"What about the kids?" asked Frank as soon as Andromeda was out of sight.

"We'll take care of them," said Lily. "Andromeda's just… she needs time, which is why she's here."

"Is she spending any time with them at all?" asked Alice, frowning.

"She reads to them," said Lily, but before she could continue, James interrupted.

"Sometimes," he added. "But she's usually asleep."

"James, she's just lost her husband—"

"I get that, Lils, I really do, and I love Dora and Nasha, but she needs to take care of her kids. It's not—"

"We should talk about this later," interrupted a new voice. The group looked at Remus Lupin, who was pointedly looking at a curious Dora.

"Er, yes," said Frank. "Later. Right. So, Dora, what're you in the mood to eat for lunch?"

* * *

_May 1980_

"Poor Molly," said Alice as she sat down on a sofa at Longbottom Manor. "Ginevra Prewett died just last year, and now her younger brothers, at the same time? Marlene was practically family as well." The tight group of young witches and wizards had recently lost more of its members—Gideon, Fabian, and Marlene had been attacked at the beginning of the month. Marlene had been killed at the start, but the Prewett brothers had managed to take a fair numbers of Death Eaters down before the odds became too skewed. Alice, Frank, James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Andromeda, and Dorcas had stopped at Longbottom Manor after the Prewetts' funerals that morning. Marlene's had been the day before.

"Excuse me," said Dorcas, who fled up the stairs that were outside of the sitting room. Andromeda, to the surprise of the rest of the guests, went after her. The widow had been increasingly reclusive in the months since her husband's death, not leaving her rooms at June's Lake more than twice each week.

"She does know best what Dorcas is feeling," said James uncertainly. "But maybe someone should…"

"I think that a talk might help both of them," said Lily. "Give them a while." She rubbed her stomach. The baby boy she and James were expecting was an active one—he never seemed to stop kicking. Alice, who was also due at the end of July, claimed the opposite was true of her Neville. Lily envied the Longbottoms, who already knew their child's full name. She and James had yet to agree on any name for more than a week. Their son had been called Ethan, Aaron, Roger, Ben, and all sorts of names that had, for various reasons, been deemed inferior.

"Decided on a name yet?" Kingsley asked Lily.

"I was just thinking of that, actually. And no, we haven't," she replied.

"Not for lack of trying," said James, who sounded a bit exasperated. "James Junior would work just fine and make this whole ordeal easier, but apparently that's not right either."

"He doesn't feel like a James," explained Lily patiently. "Or a Ryan, or a Gregory…"

* * *

_July 31, 1980 – Enter Harry James Potter_

"Poor kid," said Sirius in a jolly tone, "he's got Prongs's hair!" And he was right, for young Harry had been born with a full head of untamable black hair, just like his father's.

"That makes him…what?"

"Prongs the second?"

"Nah… a little Prongslet!"

"No, no—Bambi!"

"Do hush up," said Lily impatiently. "He's stopped crying and I'd like to keep it that way." She turned from her husband and his two closest friends and looked at her new son. "Isn't that right, Harry-bear? Mummy likes the quiet, doesn't she?" Lily's voice had taken on a distinctly odd tone. (At least, it sounded odd to the three men in the room. Anyone else would recognize it as the 'mother-to-her-newborn-son' tone. You know the high-pitched, cooing, 'oh-my-god-is-he-not-the-most-beautiful-baby-ever?' tone.)

"I don't think he understands you just yet, Lily."

"Sirius, shut up."

* * *

"Say 'Nasha' Harry, you can do it!"

"Nashira, dear, I don't think he'll say it just yet," said an amused Alice Longbottom. "Just like Neville can't. They're just not old enough yet."

"I bet _I_ was talking when _I_ was five months old!" shouted the three-year-old. She had a tendency to shout just about everything. (It didn't help that her godfather and various surrogate uncles encouraged her.) Five-month-old Neville giggled.

"No you weren't," said Dora, who was sitting nearby and playing with a five-inch model broomstick. "You didn't do _anything_ back then, you were so _boring_ and—and smelly."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was n—aah! Aunt Alice, Aunt Alice, Uncle Frank gots me!" And, indeed, the little girl had been turned upside down by Frank as her sister received similar treatment from Kingsley.

"'Has' you, dear," said Alice mildly. "And you'll have to take it up with him."

"Let me down, you slimy git!" Frank laughed as Alice tsked.

"Nashira, little girls don't model their language after Aurors," said Alice, thinking not of herself but of Sirius and Kingsley, who tended to forget the monitor their words around the kids. "Please apologize to your uncle, and remember to say please and thank you when you should."

"Sorry, Uncle Frank."

"It's all right, Nasha," replied Frank, though he still hadn't put her down. Nashira, ignoring her older sister's laughs, waited a moment before trying again.

"Let me down, you bloody wanker!"

"Nashira Tonks!" scolded Alice. "What did I just tell you about manners?"

"Sorry. Um… let me down, you bloody wanker, _please_?"

* * *

_February 1981 – June's Lake_

"We don't wanna leave!" Dora shouted at her mother. "We like it here with Uncle James and Aunt Lily!"

"Yeah!" agreed Nashira with a stomp of her foot. Andromeda shook her head, exasperated.

"Well, unfortunately for you, _I_ am the mother here and I make the decisions. We're moving into our own house today, and that's final, girls." Dora opened up her mouth to protest again. "Nymphadora Andromeda Tonks, you will shut your mouth, understand?" Dora glared but didn't say anything. Nashira started to cry and ran off, finding a group of her surrogate aunts and uncles waiting to help move the Tonkses.

"Uncle Kingsley, I don't wanna leave!" she screamed, jumping into the arms of the person closest to the door. "I _like_ it here, with the garden that has lots of flowers all the time and the squirrel that likes me to give it popcorns and the portrait of Uncle James' Uncle Albie who tells funny jokes and—and—and I don't _want_ to move!"

"Oh, sweetie, I know," said Kingsley helplessly. He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to comfort a distraught little girl, and one who tended to be very irrational at that.

"And what if everyone forgets about me?" she asked, although her voice was almost unintelligible because of her sniffles. "What if mummy doesn't bring us over here a lot and you all still come over here and forget about me and Dora and mummy?"

"No one's going to forget about you and Dora and your mum," said Kingsley. "We love you all too much, okay? And did you let your mum finish explaining what would happen when you moved?"

"No…" said Dora, who had walked in soon after Nashira and was holding Lily's hand.

"Your mum's going to bring you over here every day to play with Harry and Neville," explained Lily. "And Uncle Gideon's nephews are going to be here too. Do you remember meeting them?"

"Yes!" said Dora. "One of them pulled my hair," she added petulantly. Most of the grownups hid their laughter well. Her demeanor changed. "So we're coming back here a lot?" Lily nodded.

"And you won't forget about me?" asked Nashira.

"We could never," said James solemnly.

"Okay," said Dora. "But keep my room for me, would you? I might want to come back if the new house isn't as cool as this one."

* * *

_March 9, 1981 – The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix – London, England_

Albus Dumbledore looked out at the group he had gathered; the wizarding world's best and brightest. In preparing for this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, he had thought long and hard about what to say. Based on everything that had happened recently, he had only been able to come to one conclusion: there was a spy among them. It was a thought that simultaneously angered and saddened him.

As he surveyed the group, his eyes were not twinkling. "To start with, I have some grave news," said Dumbledore. "There is a spy in our midst." Everyone began talking at once. _Perhaps you should have handled that with a little more tact, old boy._

"Please, my friends, calm down. Yelling and sniping at each other does no one any good." He fielded questions from the group and answered as best he could. The meeting ended soon after that, as he didn't think that most of the members would be able to concentrate well. As they walked out of the meeting room of an old Dumbledore family home, he noticed that suspicious looks were already being traded.

_This cannot end well.  
_

* * *

_**A/N:** Thanks to Sam and thegoodmustard for being awesome beta readers and for just listening to me blather on about this! The next chapter, entitled 'Halloween,' should be up soon._

_Thanks for reading! I'd love a review if you have the time. :)_

_- Orion in the Sky_


	2. While Everyone's Lost, the Battle is Won

_The Righteous and the Wicked by Orion in the Sky  
Chapter Two: While Everyone's Lost, the Battle is Won_

* * *

_Warnings (this chapter): AU._

_**Please pay attention to the dates before each scene. This chapter takes the story from 1981 to 1995, which is when all of the back story catches up with our characters.**_

* * *

_October 31, 1981 – London, England_

"Mummy, can you please help me take off these ears?" asked Dora Tonks, tugging at the black, charmed-on cat's ears she wore. Andromeda dutifully waved her wand and the ears disappeared.

"Mine too!" said Nashira, who had wanted to dress the same as her sister. Her ginger-colored ears were soon gone as well.

"Can we see Neville again tomorrow?" asked Dora. The Longbottoms had invited the Tonkses over for a small Halloween party. Unfortunately, the three kids had spent the first hour relentlessly asking when their fourth friend, Harry Potter, was going to arrive. Harry, Lily, and James had gone into hiding one week before Halloween and their absences left a large hole in the small group's lives. Since Lily was no longer able to watch the kids during the day, the Longbottoms and Andromeda had offered to pay Molly Weasley to watch them. They didn't know anyone else well enough, and in times like these it was best to stick with people you knew.

"Fred 'n George, too," insisted Nashira.

"But not Bill," Dora added quickly. Bill had tugged on her hair the first time they met. He claimed it was because he been amazed at seeing it grow long in seconds (which was "totally wicked") but Dora didn't care either way—she and Bill Weasley were now mortal enemies for life.

"We'll see," said Andromeda. "Now, though, it's time for bed."

Despite their protestations, the two girls retired.

* * *

_October 31, 1981 – Godric's Hollow, Wales_

"What the fuck?" muttered Sirius as he walked into Peter's flat. His friend was supposed to be keeping a low profile, but Sirius hadn't heard from him in a few days and had come early to check in. It was unnecessary to say that he was shocked at the state of his friend's home. _It's empty, but not messy… so there wasn't a fight here. But then why would he leave?_

_No._

_NO. Peter wouldn't… He _couldn't… _Peter would never betray James and Lily and Harry. No. _

Sirius, shaking his head, picked up his wand and apparated to James and Lily's safe house in Wales. The sight of the demolished building brought him to his knees. _Merlin, no…_

"Sirius?" asked a voice from behind him. He stood up and turned to see who called him. Unexpectedly, it was the Hogwarts' groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid.

"Hagrid?" he asked, surprised. He looked at the bundle the half-giant was holding. "Harry," he whispered, tears coming into his eyes. His godson looked completely unharmed, except for a slightly bleeding cut on his forehead. Harry, who was already crying, screamed and reached for Sirius. Sirius held out his arms and took Harry from Hagrid. He held the boy close and swayed, trying to calm him.

"James and Lily?" he croaked. Hagrid told him that when he had come, he found Harry because the boy had been screaming, and then ran out of the house when it started to collapse. He hadn't seen James or Lily. "I…" Sirius had no idea what to do. He broke down, crying, and Hagrid actually picked up the twenty-one-year-old and patted him roughly on the back. Eventually, Sirius' mind cleared a little.

_Remus. Remus willknow how take care of Harry… and Peter._

"I'm going to take Harry home," said Sirius.

"No, Dumbledore said—"

"I'm his godfather!" said Sirius. _Why won't he just let me leave? Take my godson and grieve, find Moony and apologize, find the rat and kill him…_

"Dumbledore's given me orders—"

Sirius didn't have it in him to argue anymore.

"Fine, Hagrid." He pulled out his motorbike and restored it to his normal size. "Take my bike; I don't need it anymore. I'll get Harry later, then." Numbly, he handed Harry back to Hagrid and disapparated away, already wondering how he could track Peter.

* * *

_November 1, 1981 – London, England_

_No, no, no. Sirius wasn't supposed to be able to find me… Well, my Lord wasn't supposed to bloody _die_, and the mutt and his pet werewolf were supposed to be next, after the blood traitor and their mudblood wife and half-blood spawn. Merlin, a plan, I need to think of a plan…_

"PETER!" shouted the desperate man's old friend. _Think, think, think…_

"James and Lily, Sirius!" he said, acting his first impulse. "How could you?" he shouted back. "You betrayed them! Your own godson's parents!" He slipped his hands behind his back. _Okay, pull out the knife… What's that blasting spell again? Damn it!_

"How _dare_ you—"

Peter had remembered the spell and worked up enough courage to transform.

Minutes later, the Aurors had caught up with Sirius Black and led him away. Just as Albus Dumbledore had predicted, Black was clearly insane. As the soon-to-be prisoner of Azkaban laughed hysterically, Peter Pettigrew became a mourned hero, James Potter was erased, and one broken man was all that was left of the Marauders.

* * *

_November 1, 1981 – London, England_

Andromeda Tonks sunk into the couch cushions. Her former headmaster had just left, having decided that the death of three of her closest friends, the betrayal of another, and the whisking away of her nephew was something he should explain personally. She couldn't believe that Lily had wanted Petunia to raise Harry, but as Dumbledore pointed out, who was she to argue? If Harry wasn't with family, he could go to _anyone_, and there were Death Eaters that weren't known to the Ministry. Dumbledore had reassured her that there were people in place to watch the Muggles, ones that could remove Harry at the first sign of trouble.

_But how am I going to tell the girls? They were so attached… Hell, they loved James and Lily more than they do me, and who can blame them? I haven't been the best mother… or any sort of mother, ever since Ted died._

Before she could wonder at how much she had failed her kids so far, the floo activated and her youngest child's godfather came out.

"Andie?" he asked.

"Hi, Kingsley," she said tearfully. "Have you heard about—?" she shook her head and answered herself. "Of course you have, you're an Auror…" He nodded.

"Have you told the girls?" he asked, looking around.

"No… not yet. I'm not really sure how, to be honest."

"Just be honest about it, I guess. Do you want me to stick around?" he offered. She asked him to, and together they attempted to explain what had happened the previous night. What they ended up with was a sobbing Dora and a screaming Nashira.

"But why can't Harry live with _us_?" asked Dora between sobs.

"Because it's safer at his Auntie's house, Dora," replied Andromeda.

"But—but—" Nashira looked liked she wanted to argue but wasn't sure what to say. The look on her face was familiar, as Andromeda had seen it every time Remus Lupin had calmly brought sense to the group of troublemakers he had hung out with. _She looks like Sirius_, thought Andromeda. She turned to say something to Dora but quickly had to do a double take on her other daughter. _One of her parents as good as killed the other. And so many more people… twelve Muggles in London, and Peter, Gideon, Fabian, Marlene, Dorcas… and Ted. Oh, Merlin._

"Andie?" asked Kingsley worriedly. She hadn't spoken in a while.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's nothing." She went on to try and comfort Dora as Kingsley tried to do the same for Nashira. But she kept giving the younger child strange looks, and her mind was in overdrive thinking about the last twelve hours and all of the new information she had.

And though she didn't mean to and tried her hardest not to let it, over the years her attitude toward Nashira—toward the daughter of the man she considered responsible for the death of her husband—would slowly change from love to tolerance.

* * *

_November 3, 1980 – Castletownroche, Ireland_

Albus Dumbledore was thinking. This was not abnormal, as he often lapsed into deep thought without warning, even in the middle of staff meetings. It was his train of thought, however, that would have shocked people.

His masterfully crafted plan to give the wizarding world something to believe in (while also boosting his own popularity) was working almost perfectly. Pettigrew, the predictable little rat, had led Tom right to the Potters and Lily and James had reacted just as he had thought they would, protecting little Harry as best they could. Unfortunately, Tom had used an experimental spell on the young savior's parents. Dumbledore's spy, Severus Snape, had recently brought word that Tom's spell-crafter had created a new kind of killing curse just for the Potters. It was 'creatively' called the Painful Death Curse and had been successful against the Muggles that the spell-crafter had tested it on. Unfortunately, the spell-crafter hadn't tested it on any wizards or witches, and therefore hadn't known when he gave it to Tom that the spell was flawed.

Oh, it caused pain and grave injury, to be sure. Dumbledore had spent a great deal of time fixing up the Potters after they had been retrieved from their wrecked home. And there was the problem: James and Lily Potter had been alive after the spell was done. Apparently, when matched against a wizard's natural magical defenses, the spell did not kill. That had certainly thrown a wrench in Dumbledore's plans. James and Lily would never leave and let things progress the way he wanted them too. They were attached to their son and their friends. They would have Sirius Black freed and rescue little Harry. No, this was not good.

"But what to do?" he said out loud, looking at the two people in magically-induced comas that were lying in separate twin beds on the other side of the room. This had been his grandmother's cottage, and he was fairly sure that not even Aberforth knew that he still had it. It would have been the perfect place to get rid of the Potters, but Dumbledore didn't fancy himself a killer. Oh, he had led people to their deaths—on purpose and on accident—and he had been fully prepared to lose James and Lily on Halloween, but could he kill them himself?

"No, I don't think so," he said aloud again. "There are certain lines that a wizard shouldn't cross."

As he prepared to leave, he re-checked the spells on the Potters to make sure they wouldn't wake up any time soon. He instructed his most loyal house-elf to keep care of them (though the elf did look rather sick after he gave his orders, not that he was particularly interested in his house-elves' health), and left to help prosecute the wrongdoers of the paused war. As with most men who think of themselves as the epitome of righteousness, it never occurred to him that he was causing more damage than the criminals that he planned to imprision ever had.

Busy days full of trials, celebrations, speeches, and funerals passed. Dumbledore had installed Arabella Figg, a batty but overly trusting old woman, on Privet Drive and so far she hadn't had anything negative to report. Finally, in mid-November Dumbledore had an idea of what to do with the Potters. It all came from a fiction novel that a former student had written and sent to him.

The book was about a man who had been the victim of a poor memory charm. The caster fled in terror when the victim couldn't even remember who he was, so the man was left alone. The victim remembered how to _live_ but now how he _had_ lived up until that point. He started his life over, and eventually started a new family. It was only when the man's death announcement was in the paper that his first wife (who had thought the victim to be dead) came forward. There had been a suitably angst-filled confrontation and revelation. It had been a rather good book, and Dumbledore knew that with a little adaptation it could become the story of how he successfully got rid of the Potters—minus the confrontation at the end, of course. No one needed that.

He spent weeks transforming the cottage and carefully creating a new history for James and Lily. Using a combination of Legilimency and memory charms, he erased all traces of magic from their lives. This was hardest to do for James, as the man was a pureblood and had been around magic his entire life. Eventually, he finished. He took another few days to thoroughly check their minds—though their new life story was tragic, it shouldn't have memory blocks. Once he was sure that their false memories were in place, he woke them up.

_And how marvelous I felt that day_, he reflected. _To have everything come together perfectly like that_. The Potters (although now they were the Foresters) had remembered nothing, and immediately recognized him as James's 'Great Uncle Brian' (he had been sure to change into Muggle clothes before waking them). After telling them that they were in Alabama and still recovering from a recent car accident, he slyly caused them to fall unconscious again. Modifying their memories once more, he made arrangements for the final part of his plan to get James and Lily out of his way.

* * *

_November 29, 1981 – Seattle, Washington, United States_

James Forester, unknowing recipient of a record level of memory charms, woke up in his hotel room and looked around. He didn't see his wife, Lily, in the bed next to him, so he wandered over the bathroom. He found her putting up her red hair and looking pensive.

"Lily?" he asked, wondering why she was up so early. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, James. I'm just—I just couldn't sleep, I guess. I've been thinking about Harry," said Lily quietly.

James nodded. He too often thought of their son. The Forester family had been in a car accident in their native Wales only one month ago, and though both adults had made it out alive, Harry had not. It had been the final straw in their minds, as the Foresters had been considering moving away for a long time. After their friend Peter had died an unexpected and tragic in a bank hold-up over a year earlier, James and Lily had stayed in the UK because of their other two friends, Sirius and Remus. Soon after Peter died, Sirius's constant illness had worsened.

Sirius had been sick for years, and it was only a few months before he died that a doctor finally gave it a definite name: GRID. James hadn't been too pleased when Sirius's new doctor had seemed more excited about having another person to experiment on rather than to be able to help Sirius. Unfortunately, the trial medications that Sirius had been put on had only worsened his condition. Not six months after Peter died, Sirius followed. James had taken the death of his best mate hard, but not nearly as bad as Remus. Remus, having been Sirius' boyfriend of many years, was tested for GRID as well. He was diagnosed with the disease and the knowledge of that and the loss of his love were too much for him. Remus committed suicide three months after Sirius's death.

James and Lily had not had many close friends besides the three men, so they had already been making plans to move away from their memories before their son's death. On Halloween a drunken partygoer caused the accident that killed their son. As soon as they recovered from the accident, they left. James' great uncle Brian Forester, who was some sort of high-ranking British-American diplomat, helped make the arrangements. They had jobs and a house in a good neighborhood waiting for them, and money to go to university if they wanted to (before they moved the Foresters had foregone university to run a small shop near their home).

Bringing himself back to the present, James wrapped his arms around Lily and kissed the top of her head. "I know, Lily. I miss him too." Both were silent for a long while before starting to pack up and find their new house. The next week saw them signing up at a local community college, and in January they started classes. Slowly, they rebuilt their life.

* * *

_March 13, 1983 – Near Westbury, Wiltshire, England_

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked around the grounds of Abercrombie Hall, the manor house that he was currently staying at. As he sat on one of the outside benches, he let out a sigh and wondered what he was doing there. He didn't approve of Andie's new fiancé. In fact, he rather detested Everard Abercrombie. He was a slimy man that had played both sides during the war, and he knew that Everard didn't care a whit for Andie, Dora, or Nasha. The considerably older man wanted heirs, and Andromeda was young and desperate enough to have them. The marriage was also going to put her back in the good graces of her family, even if most of the good feelings were for show.

"Hello, Uncle Kingsley!" said Nashira, who was already in her green dress robes for the ceremony. Dora followed soon after and greeted him as well. "Did you bring anyone with you? Mum's been going mad because some of our new cousins are bringing dates, and I don't really know why because isn't having more people cheer you on at your wedding a good thing but Dora said that it was bad because we might run out of cake but I _like_ cake and I just know that I'll be last in line and if we run out I won't get any just like I didn't get any cake at Mrs. Weasley's house the other day and—"

"Nasha, please calm down. Your mum will work it all out. Actually, the wedding planner will work it all out, to be honest. More people at a wedding is only good if they're people that you like, of course, and I highly doubt that you'll run out of cake. And the reason you didn't get cake at Ron's birthday was because you hit George, not because they ran out. Anything else?"

"Nope," said Nashira, not missing a beat. Dora was laughing.

"She's been cooped up in the old nursery all day," explained Dora, "and since they've not completely finished setting it up she had nothing to do get rid of some energy. A house-elf played some games with her, but…"

"Everard said that I'm 'distracting and hyperactive!'" said Nashira proudly.

"He did, did he?" asked Kingsley. If Everard was being verbally abusive…

"He wasn't mean about it," Dora added quickly.

"Yeah, well… If he ever is, just floo over to mine, yeah? Anyway, I believe that you two have a wedding to get ready for. Shall we?" he asked, standing and leading them into the house.

* * *

_July 31, 1986 – Little Whinging, Surrey, England_

It was Harry's sixth birthday. Mrs. Figg had given him stale cake and three books, but his uncle had laughed mightily at Harry when he'd asked if the Dursleys were going to give him anything.

"Worthless little runts don't get presents," Uncle Vernon had laughed.

_I should have known better_, Harry thought. They've never given me anything before, but neither had Mrs. Figg and I just thought… Oh, well. Someday someone will take me away from here. I hope it's a grandfather… or a mum. Even a step-cousin would be fine, I guess. Just someone… I hate this place.

Harry's youth passed in the same manner for the next five years—full of longing, pain, and the knowledge that he was hated.

* * *

_August 31, 1988 – Near Westbury, Wiltshire, England_

"But I _want_ to go to Hogwarts tomorrow," whined a newly eleven years old Nashira Tonks. "I'm not that sick, mum!"

"You are too, young lady," replied Andromeda. "I don't know how you missed having dragon pox when Dora had it ten years ago, but getting it now is very dangerous. Your aunt is coming over later to help out, as no one here has had healer training."

"Which aunt?" asked Nashira. _Please not Aunt Narcissa, please not Aunt Narcissa…_

"My sister Narcissa," answered Andromeda. She looked at Nashira and sighed. Somehow the girl had caught dragon pox from Andromeda's two youngest children, Euan and Ainsley, aged four and three respectively. It was an illness that generally afflicted children five and under, which was the age Dora had been when she had experienced it ten years previous. Nashira really should have been at St. Mungo's, but there was the small problem of documentation. Any Healer worth their stuff would have known that Nashira's birth certificate was a fake, as Healers were the group of people in charge of handing them out. Andromeda really didn't feel like dealing with the fallout that public knowledge of Nashira's real parents would cause, so she planned on asking her sister for help. Narcissa had trained to be a Healer and actually worked in private practice until she had fallen pregnant with Draco.

Andromeda's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of her sister. They greeted each other, and then Andromeda pulled Narcissa aside. After casting a privacy spell around them, Andromeda finally spoke the reason why she wished for Narcissa's help and not a Healer at St. Mungo's.

"Nashira is adopted," she said. "It's not well-known, as the war was on at the time and only our circle of friends knew. Most of them are dead."

"Your point, sister?"

"Her parents are Sirius Black and Lily Potter." Narcissa gaped in a manner entirely unbecoming of a Black and a Malfoy. Calling up images of the dead woman and her imprisoned cousin in her mind, she realized that it was quite possible that the child was not magically adopted. _Her appearance could support either idea, as Andie, Sirius, Regulus, and Bella have always looked like siblings. The child of one could reasonably pass for the child of another… Which is probably the case here._

"I have _many_ questions, Andie."

"And I will answer them, Cissy, but for now I wish for you to help her get through this illness. She's just barely started showing symptoms, and I would take her to St. Mungo's, but her birth certificate is a fake and the Healers would know. I need your help and your silence."

"They would know," agreed Narcissa. "And I will help you, and keep your secret." Narcissa, ever the Slytherin, added, "but you will owe me a boon, sister."

"I will owe you a boon," acknowledged Andromeda, "and I will grant it when you ask it of me. But, for now, please tend to Nashira."

"Her illness will be highly unpleasant at best and lethal at worst," said Narcissa.

"I know," said Andromeda. Narcissa paused when she noticed that Andromeda didn't look terribly worried at either prospect. _Why does she keep the girl around if she's not wanted? Surely, my sister could pawn her off on the girl's godfather, or perhaps even her dead husband's relatives… Many questions, indeed. Maybe we'll make a day of it._

Nashira was ill and bed-ridden until Christmas with dragon pox, and spent most of the spring recovering. She attended Hogwarts the next year, joined by the Weasley twins.

* * *

_September 1, 1989 – Hogwarts_

"So, Lee, where do you think you're going to be sorted?" Fred Weasley asked the twins' new friend, Lee Jordan. The twins, Nashira, and Lee were waiting to be sorted. Ignoring the ghosts that had just floated into the room, Lee responded.

"Well, my mum was a Hufflepuff, but I don't fancy that. Dad was in Ravenclaw, and that'd be all right, but I'd like Gryffindor if we get a choice. What about you lot?"

"Gryffindor," the twins said together. "Our whole family's been in for as long as anyone can remember." Lee looked at Nashira expectantly.

"Er… My mother and stepfather were Slytherins, but my dad was a Ravenclaw. And my sister's in Slytherin, so. That's sort of likely, I think." Nashira looked resigned.

"We'll still talk to you when no one's looking," said Fred, as though this was a very nice offer.

"Or just whenever we have something to say," corrected George, who nudged Fred with his shoulder.

"But—Slytherins—evil—" said Fred.

"_Bill_ is _dating_ a Slytherin. So surely it's okay if we talk to one, yeah?" asked George, making it clear that it was indeed okay, and expected besides.

"You could get sorted somewhere else," Lee pointed out. "My mum's brother was in Gryffindor even though most of her family were Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. So it's more about you than your family, I think."

"I hope," muttered Nashira. "I wouldn't want to be in the same stinkin' house that Everard and mother were in anyway."

In the end, Nashira's wishes worked out well, and the four friends were sorted into Gryffindor with Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Kenneth Towler, and Patricia Stimpson. Nashira's letter to her mother was simple, as she wrote only "Mother: I am in Gryffindor. Signed, Nashira." Her letter to her godfather was a little wordier.

_Uncle Kingsley,_

_I'M IN GRYFFINDOR!!! Sorry that it's not Ravenclaw but I like it. Fred and George and Lee are here too. (We met Lee on the train.) Dora wasn't upset or anything but she had to give Charlie ten knuts because they bet on our houses. She guessed Slytherin for me and Charlie guessed Gryffindor for all of us. The only bad part is Percy. I could tell you about how we got him to leave us alone but I think you might tell me to stop so I won't._

_Love,  
Nasha_

_P.S. – Please tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ASAP. Fred and George were supposed to say it in their letter but I think they'll forget._

* * *

_September 1, 1991 – Gryffindor Common Room_

"Hello, Ronniekins!" shouted a jubilant Weasley twin as he walked over. Harry really couldn't tell which one it was and noticed that no else seemed to be able to either. The twins approached with two other people, a boy with dreadlocks and a girl with red hair. _Another Weasley? Ron said that his sister was younger than he was, so who could that be?_

"Don't call me that," muttered Ron.

"It's a term of endearment, Ron," said the red-haired girl. "You should relish it when we call you that." Ron scowled at her too. The girl smirked at Ron, then turned to Harry and spoke. "Hello, Harry." Harry didn't ask why she knew his name; everyone seemed to. The girl had a funny look in her eyes. "You probably don't remember me…" she trailed off.

"Hey, hey! He certainly didn't remember us and we were much more interesting than you back then," said Fred with a grin. "So don't be offended, Nasha." _Nasha? What an odd name._

"Er, sorry?" Harry said at last.

"Oh, I wasn't looking for an apology," said Nasha. "Just to re-introduce myself. Nashira Tonks," she said sticking out her hand. "My parents knew your parents and whatnot. My sister and I used to stay at your house every day when we were young, while my mother was working." Harry shook Nashira's hand.

"Is your sister at school?"

"Nah, she graduated last year. She's in Auror training now." Harry didn't want to come off as stupid, so he didn't ask what Auror training was.

"So you knew my parents?"

"Called them aunt and uncle, I did," said Nashira. She looked sad, but Harry had a thirst for information about his parents and continued.

"What were they like?" he asked eagerly. Nashira looked surprised.

"Well—haven't you been with your aunt and uncle? I'm sure that they—"

"Told me that my parents died in a car crash? And that my dad was an unemployed drunkard and my mum was a whore?"

"What?" asked Nashira, aghast. "Well, that's—those stupid—_ugh_. Those filthy Muggles," she said angrily. One of the twins elbowed her and she relented. "Just them, not all Muggles. Honestly. I'm _related_ to quite a few nice Muggles, as you well know."

"Just, you know, watch your mouth around the impressionable firsties."

"Yeah, yeah," Nashira replied. She turned back to Harry. "Anyway, Harry—basic stuff first. And you've got to remember, I was a little over four when your parents—er. Well. I was only four when you went to live with your aunt and uncle. So some stuff is from me asking Dora or Uncle Kingsley questions. Or Mr. and Mrs. Weasley because Mrs. Weasley was Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian's sister, so they knew your parents a bit as well."

"Am I related to any of them?" asked Harry eagerly.

"Not like, for real," said Nashira. "I'm not, either—well, except for Dora, of course. That's my sister. But Uncle Kingsley is my godfather, and he was my dad's best friend. So he's not my real uncle. Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian aren't my uncles either. They were Fred and George and Ron's uncles, though. Your parents knew Kingsley and Gideon and Fabian, of course, as they hung in the same group. Your mum worked for the Ministry as a—er—a researcher, that's right. And your dad was a Healer, and he apprenticed with my dad before he died. I—oh, hang on, let me go get some pictures, okay? Even I'm getting confused." Nashira ran up the girls' staircase and came back not two minutes later, holding an album and slightly out of breath. She flipped through and showed Harry a picture of many men and women and two girls, one that was a toddler and one that was about six or seven.

"Okay. That's your mum, and that's your dad," said Nashira, pointing out a man that looked almost exactly like Harry and a woman that had Harry's almond-shaped green eyes and red hair—just like Nashira's.

"She looks like you," he blurted, a bit stunned at that. If she had called his parents 'aunt and uncle' then maybe there was a connection…

"Huh? Oh, maybe a little." Nashira didn't seem overly concerned, so Harry let it go. "Anyway, that's Uncle Remus… Er, Lupin. I haven't seen him in a long time. He sort of became a recluse after Uncle James, Aunt Lily, and Uncle Peter died. That's Peter Pettigrew there—he was with your parents in Gryffindor. Same year as Remus Lupin, too. This is all according to Kingsley, mind. He was a few years ahead of your parents… And that's Aunt Alice and Uncle Frank—the Longbottoms. You've met Neville, yeah? You guys were best mates when we were young, his parents were Aurors and Aunt Lily watched him when they worked. I didn't get to see him much—at all, really—after he went to live with his grandmother. She's a bit mad, that one.

"And those are Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Don't they look like Fred and George? Anyway, Gideon's got his arm around Marlene McKinnon and Fabian's with Dorcas Meadowes. They died before you were born, I think. Uncle Gideon worked with our dads too, and Uncle Fabian was an Auror. Lots of Aurors in the group, as Uncle Kingsley is one too. Aunt Marlene was a secretary in the DMLE. I don't know what Dorcas did. She wasn't around that much, I think."

Harry was astounded. He had once known all of these people? Their pictures were smiling and joyful, not like the pictures he had seen of the Dursleys. In those images they had been stiff and appeared fake. These people—his parents and their friends—were happy. _It's nice to know that they were happy_.

Harry didn't ask any more questions that day, but made it a point to try and talk to Nashira about his parents, or even about stuff that she remembered from when he was young, whenever she looked approachable. He was always occupied with either homework or research about Nicolas Flamel in his first year, so he didn't get to talk to her overmuch that year. In Harry's second year, many students avoided him because they thought that he was the Heir of Slytherin. Nashira was often without things to do that year because she spent a lot of her time avoiding George Weasley's romantic attentions, which meant avoiding Fred and Lee as well. In Harry's third year, Nashira agreed to go on a date with George, telling Harry that she hoped that it would 'shut him up about the dating nonsense.' That's not quite how it worked out—Nashira came back from Hogsmeade with a bag of Fizzing Whizbees for Harry, who couldn't go, and a rather more romantic liking for George. The group of Fred, George, Lee, and Nashira was back together after that, and they started to include Angelina Johnson, Fred's girl, and Katie Bell, who fancied Lee and tagged along with Angelina. Harry tended to ignore the inner dynamics of that group, as he, Ron, and Hermione had their own issues.

Also in third year, Harry learned that Nashira had been rather skillfully avoiding talking about one of the people that was in most of the photographs that she had of his parents—Sirius Black. After hearing Cornelius Fudge, Hagrid, and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick talk about what Black had done, he confronted Nashira. When he asked why she hadn't told him, she had actually looked like she wanted to cry.

"_He's my bloody cousin! And he as good as killed your parents! How do you think I felt about that? I just didn't want to talk about it, okay? And I still don't! So leave off!"_

Nashira hadn't spoken to him for a while after that, but eventually they patched up their friendship. They remained friends throughout his fourth year, though he avoided her—and almost everyone else—after the events of the third task.

* * *

_August 12, 1995 – The Secret Headquarters of Lord Voldemort (Location Unknown) _

"The boy wasn't expelled?" hissed the newly reborn Dark Lord. Lucius Malfoy had just Apparated in to report on one of his schemes to discredit Harry Potter. Malfoy had planted the idea of Dementors in Dolores Umbridge's head, and the toad-like woman had happily grasped the idea and acted on it. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to get him expelled.

"He is still thought of as a lying, attention-craving boy, my Lord," said Malfoy, trying to save his hide. He had been so sure that the plan would work! _And it would have if that Muggle-loving fool hadn't shown up._

"Ah, but according to your memory some members of the Wizengamot now know that Potter can produce a corporeal Patronus, Lucius," hissed Voldemort. "That is far from discrediting information!"

"There is still the daily slander in the _Prophet_," implored Lucius. "And I have information from Narcissa that could hurt Potter," he added. He didn't say that he had learned it by going through his wife's correspondence with her sister. Narcissa supported the Dark Lord as much as he did, so what was a little information stealing between spouses? Besides, it helped her when he performed his duties well.

And, really, Narcissa should have done a better job of concealing such an important missive if she hadn't wanted him to read it.

"And what is this information, Lucius?"

"Andromeda Abercrombie's second daughter from her first marriage to the mudblood Edward Tonks is adopted," said Lucius. He paused for dramatic measure—this information had shocked even he. His Lord was sure to be pleased.

"Your point?" hissed Voldemort dangerously. _Right—he's not happy with me. I'd better get on with it._

"The child, called Nashira, is the daughter of Sirius Black and Lily Potter from an affair during their sixth year of school."

"As if I hadn't already known," said Voldemort dispassionately. "But do with this what you want—it can't help the boy to know that his mother was a whore. Who knows, it might even cause a rift in Dumbledore's little group… I am less displeased than before you told me, Lucius. Still, Potter got off at that trial you arranged… Crucio!"

Lucius suffered under the spell for what seemed like an eternity before his Lord lifted it.

"Let that be your lesson, Lucius. Do not fail me again."

"Yes, my Lord," said Lucius. He left and, after recovering, met with his contact at the _Daily Prophet_.

* * *

**Next Time:** An explosive newspaper article, scenes from Order headquarters, scenes from the US, and the beginning of fall term at Hogwarts.

**GRID:** GRID was the first name given to AIDS by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It stood for _Gay-Related Immune Deficiency_. The CDC gave it this name in June of 1981 and then later renamed the disease _Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome_ (AIDS) in 1982 when they realized that almost half of the people infected with the disease were not homosexual men. This information is a summary of what I found at Wikipedia. (Also, please note that Sirius does not have AIDS in this story, but Dumbledore did his research in finding a plausible death for each of James and Lily's friends.)

**A/N: I apologize for the delay!** School was near ending for the quarter as I posted the first chapter, and after 11/30 I had to concentrate on finals and homework for a while.After that I ran into a problem with one of the main events in this chapter, and that wasn't resolved as quickly as I had hoped it would be. And then, well, there was Christmas and stuff, so I didn't really have the right environment to write this chapter in until recently. This chapter is actually only half-beta'd, as my good friend Sam has not had a chance to read it yet. I'll probably re-upload this when she does, but I just felt so bad about it being so long since I've posted.

Thanks to **thegoodmustard** for beta reading and support. Thank you also to **rosiegirl** and **HarrySirius Fan** for reviewing the first chapter, and to those who added this to their story alert lists!

This chapter's title comes from the song "All These Things That I've Done" by the Killers. I don't know them, I don't know J.K. Rowling, and I don't have any claim to any of the previously mentioned people's works.

**If you have time, please review! **

Thanks for reading:)

- Orion in the Sky


	3. You'll See Things in a Different Way

_The Righteous and the Wicked by Orion in the Sky_  
_Chapter 3: You'll See Things in a Different Way_

* * *

_August 13, 1995 – Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London, England – 8:00 AM_

"Harry!" yelled Ron, running back into the room he shared with Harry at Order headquarters. He shook him awake. "Harry! Wake up!"

"Wuh?"

"Read this," Ron said, shoving that morning's paper in Harry's face. Harry jammed his glasses on his face and, with a glare at Ron, looked at that day's issue of the _Daily Prophet_.

The headline certainly caught his attention. "_Sirius Black and Lily Potter Love Affair_?" he mouthed silently as he read.

"Is this a joke?" he asked Ron.

"No, mate," said Ron, who was still in shock over the article and the confirmation he'd received at the breakfast table.

Harry turned back to the _Daily Prophet_, shaking his head. His shock was evident as he read. "'This reporter has recently discovered that in 1977 Lily Evans-Potter and Sirius Black had one child, a daughter. The girl, Nashira Black, was apparently the result of a drunken tryst after a Quidditch game. Evans-Potter, who was not yet dating her future husband, and Black, who had just left a violent relationship with known werewolf Remus Lupin, found out that she was pregnant soon after. Black enlisted the help of his disowned cousin, Andromeda Black-Abercrombie and her husband at the time, Ted Tonks, to take care of the girl.

"'The Tonks family told friends who asked about the new addition to their family that they had adopted a war orphan, and that they had performed a standard adoption ritual to make her their child. In reality, no adoption ritual was performed, and as you can see in this recent picture of Nashira Black (who goes by Nashira Tonks), she strongly resembles her biological parents. We at the Prophet are sure that there is more to the tale, and call for an inquiry into the moral and legal responsibilities that have been blatantly flouted in this case…'" Harry trailed off, looking completely overwhelmed.

Below the rest of the story were notes on where to find more information in that issue:

_Page 3: Could this revelation be the reason behind the betrayal of Sirius Black? Was he in love with his best friend's wife?_

_Page 5: Scandal - Nashira Black's godfather is the Auror in charge of the search for Sirius Black! Is Kingsley Shacklebolt aiding his goddaughter's father?_

_Page 6: James Potter - Did he know?_

_Also on page 6: More on the Tonks, Abercrombie, Potter, and Black families! Exclusive testimony from family and friends!_

"What the hell, Ron?" Harry shouted.

Ron shook his head, knowing that Harry's anger was not directed at him. "Sirius is downstairs with my mum and Lupin. Kingsley was just leaving when I found out what was going on. I think he's getting Nasha."

"What?" asked Harry, eyes wide. He got up, dressed quickly (resulting in two mismatched socks and a backwards shirt), and thundered down the stairs into the kitchen. He ignored the screams of Mrs. Black and stared at the scene in front of him. Hermione of all people was shaking her finger at Sirius, talking about how he had a responsibility not to lie to Harry, and about how Harry should have known much sooner—especially since somehow the _Prophet_ found out, and it was 'just terrible' of Sirius to have let that happen.

"Hermione," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and looked at him with compassion. "Thanks, but I'd like to talk with Sirius now." Harry turned to look at his godfather. "So it's true, then?"

Sirius nodded. "I just wasn't sure how to tell you, Harry. It was supposed to be James, Lily, Remus, and I, and hopefully Ted and Andromeda and Nashira all at once, and you two were supposed to have grown up close, and it's just—I just didn't know how," he said, desperate for Harry to understand. "Nothing is like it's supposed to be," he added helplessly, and to Harry's shock he had tears in his eyes. Remus Lupin, who had been standing near Sirius but not interfering in Hermione's rant, pulled Sirius into a hug. Harry's anger deflated a bit and a strong sense of awkwardness came over him. Sirius quickly pulled away from Lupin and furiously swiped his hands at his eyes.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked quietly, not caring who answered. Hermione was standing on his left but it was Ron, who was on his right, answered.

"Fred and George are upstairs with Ginny. Dad's at work."

"I think that people are trying to give you time to process this," Hermione added. "Otherwise everyone would be crowded in the kitchen."

"'Cept for Dad. He'd still be at work, I think," said Ron. "Not much stops him from going." Harry smiled faintly. His anger faded a little more, and he was finally able to look beyond the fact that his godfather had kept something important from him.

"I have a sister?" _Hell._ "Another person to place in danger," he muttered under his breath. _I bet that's why Kingsley is bringing her here._ The kitchen door opened again, and Nashira stepped in, followed by Kingsley. _Speak of the devil._

"Hey," she said to the room at large. Mrs. Weasley walked over and hugged her firmly while whispering something in her ear. Nashira's eyes widened when she looked at Sirius and Remus. She nodded once to Mrs. Weasley and then walked over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Hi," said Harry. There was an awkward silence.

"So you're my brother," she said, looking at him.

"Er—yeah. I guess… Is that a problem, or…?"

"Well—no, I'm just—I mean, well, surprised. And all that. Because, I mean, who would've—well. Yeah." There was yet another awkward silence, and Harry felt that in the days to come there could be many, many more. "I'm gonna go find George, and—could someone direct me? I'll, er, talk to you later, Harry." Nashira nodded to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, made fleeting eye contact with everyone else, and set out. Her shout of "George!" was clearly heard and caused the portrait to renew its screams.

"Why don't you kids go up as well?" said Mrs. Weasley. She ruffled Ron's hair, patted Harry's shoulder, and smoothed down some of Hermione's frizz as she pushed them. In a quieter tone, she added, "I think Sirius will try to talk to you later, Harry. And all of you kids are freed from cleaning duty today, of course." Harry nodded, and with one last glance at his godfather, set off to occupy his time.

* * *

_August 13, 1995 – Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London, England – 6:24 PM_

"Dinner is great, mum," said Ginny timidly, breaking the awkward silence that had permeated the table.

"Thank you, Ginny," replied Mrs. Weasley. Looking to keep the conversation going, Mrs. Weasley turned to Nashira and asked, "Nashira, dear, how has your summer been? I'm so sorry that you couldn't join us sooner."

Nashira nodded, though she shot a resentful look at Tonks. "It's been a bit boring, really. Nymphadora and Kingsley have been busy with work… though I suppose that was really stuff for—for whatever the lot of you are doing here."

"It has," said Tonks, looking at Nashira apologetically. "I would've told you, but—"

"But you couldn't," said Nashira with a bitter little twist to her smile. "I get that, Nymphadora."

"If you 'get it' then maybe you could stop making a fuss about it," mumbled Tonks, who had grimaced each time Nashira used her full first name. Nashira sniffed and looked away, pointedly starting a new conversation with Mr. Weasley about the legalities of flying carpets.

"This is fun," Ron said quietly and sarcastically. Harry shrugged his shoulders at him and finished up the treacle tart Mrs. Weasley had made for dessert. The rest of the meal passed by with stilted conversations and uncomfortable silences. When everyone was getting ready to leave, Sirius spoke up.

"Harry? Nashira? Could the two of you stay behind, please? I'd like to have a talk with the both of you."

Harry glanced at Nashira, who glanced at him, and shrugged his shoulders. She made a similar motion and said aloud, "I guess—" and though it sounded like she meant to say more, she didn't.

Hermione made a motion to stay, as did Ron, but Mrs. Weasley pushed them out, saying something that Harry couldn't quite catch. She did the same when the twins made to stay with Nashira. Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill left quietly after that. Lupin stayed, as did Tonks.

Sirius started talking, and Harry was willingly drawn in. Without going into detail he told of the Quidditch game in Harry's parents' sixth year, and of a few of the circumstances surrounding Nashira's conception. Then Harry's father entered the story, and Harry found it hard to think of a way he could be prouder of his dad. Sirius readily admitted that he himself wasn't as helpful to Lily as he could have been, and that James had stepped up to take Sirius's place.

Sirius explained how Dumbledore and Ted Tonks had helped them, and then it was Tonks' turn to look proud of her father, who had risked his career as a Healer to keep his mother and godfather's indiscretion secret. Lupin took up the story, saying how Lily had been calling Nashira 'Daisy' throughout her pregnancy and that was how Nashira had gotten her middle name.

"Hmm," said Nashira noncommittally. "Flower names are a tradition in Aunt Lily's family?" she asked, looking at Harry, Lupin, and Sirius.

"Yeah," answered Harry. He had heard his aunt talk enough over the years to know that. "My grandmother's name was Rose, and mum and Aunt Petunia had an aunt called Daffodil."

"Daffodil?" asked Nashira with a slightly mocking look on her face. Her face reflected what Harry had felt when he'd heard the name.

"I believe they called her 'Daffy,'" said Harry, though he didn't think that 'Daffy' was a big improvement. Nashira snorted.

"_So_ much better," she said, laughing.

"So you two are friends, then? That's good—makes it less awkward, I think," said Sirius.

"You think it makes it less awkward? Been through this before, have you?" snapped Nashira.

"Nasha," implored Tonks.

"I think she's got a right to be angry," said Harry. "I'm angry, even, and I've still got the same parents that I had yesterday." Nashira laughed.

"Could I have, oh, I don't know, a day or so to think this over?" Nashira asked, looking in turn at Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks. "Everything came out _this morning_, and I've not exactly had a lot of time to think about this today. So just—just _stop talking about it_, please."

"Nasha —" Tonks continued, but she was interrupted.

"Dora, I know you didn't know, okay? But for the love of Merlin, _leave it_," said Nashira. Sirius looked at her and nodded, as did Lupin. Nashira looked back at Harry, and he held his hands up in a surrender gesture.

"I won't ask you anything, either," he said.

"Er, you could, I suppose, but I was just going to ask you if you wanted to play Exploding Snap," said Nashira. "Unless there's something else to do around here. This place looks pretty bleak."

"It is," agreed Harry, and he and Nashira went off to find the other kids in the house.

* * *

_August 17, 1995 – Washington State Department of Magic, Seattle, Washington, United States – 12:36 PM_

For a long time, Meg Hanson had felt that she held the most boring job to ever exist. She hadn't earned the best grades in school, and so had been grateful—perhaps overly so—when a friend of her parents had maneuvered to get her a job on the Accidental Magic Monitoring Team. She hadn't known at the time that the job would be one of lowest significance. It was Meg's job to monitor maps of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho and watch for uncontrolled magic in Muggle areas. Due to the rather loose laws in the United States—and the small magical population in the states she monitored—not a lot came up (only one incident or so per hour in the three-state area).

When an incident did occur, Meg was to write it down and send it to the Accidental Magic Solutions Team. The Solutions Team analyzed the report and then sent a new one to the Accidental Magic Reversal Team. The Reversal Team then took care of the immediate effects of the magic performed (if there were any left) and _Obliviated_ anyone who needed to be. Then the Reversal Team filed a report with the Accidental Magic Legalities Team, who determined whether or not charges needed to be filed.

As Meg slowly sipped her latte (a new coffee shop that had long been popular with local Muggles had opened up inside the building last week), a blue flash in Western Washington caught her attention. She used her wand to focus the map and zoom in, and wrote the address. It was one of the shops in the public market in downtown Seattle. She quickly pulled up the details on the location, and wrote her report. She concluded the report of the incident with the information that it had occurred in a shop called _Forester's Bookstore_ and that the lease listed L. Forester of Seattle as the contact. Frowning at the mundane report, she spelled it to appear in the Solutions Team's inbox. She finished her latte, never knowing that her report would start an investigation that would reveal information that could change the world.

* * *

_August 17, 1995 – Forester's Bookstore, Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington, United States – 12:25 PM_

"Mummy!" shouted a little girl as she entered the small bookstore.

"Hello, my darling!" said Lily. "How was school today?"

"_Boring_," replied Natalie emphatically. The girl tugged on one of her red pigtails, which Lily knew was a sign that she was annoyed.

"Boring? Why?" asked Lily.

"We're still learning about the _alphabet_," complained Natalie, "but I already know everything about it!"

"Oh, I see," said Lily, pleased. She went on to talk with her daughter for a while, as she knew that her employees could handle the small amount of patrons in the shop.

"… and for my cake I want the pink Power Ranger!" finished Natalie. Her fourth birthday was in two weeks and for the past three it had been almost all she talked about. Lily nodded, making plans to stop at the grocer's on the way home. Natalie's request for the pink Power Ranger wasn't a surprise, as she and James watched the show daily.

"Can do," said Lily with a smile. Noticing it was 12:30 and therefore their usual lunchtime, she asked, "Are you hungry?" Natalie nodded. Lily closed the shop and she, her daughter, and the store's employees retired to the back rooms to eat lunch. The atmosphere was light until Natalie refused to eat part of her lunch.

"I _hate_ peas," she complained to Lily. "Daddy never makes me eat them," she added slyly, thinking this would help her case. Lily sternly replied that Natalie would eat them, or she wouldn't get that day's dessert. Natalie screamed that she _really, really hated_ peas, and suddenly the peas were no longer on her plate.

"What the hell?" asked Lily, staring at the blank portion of her daughter's plate.

"What happened to Nat's peas?" asked one of the employees.

"I—I don't know," she said, not able to process what had happened.

"See, God doesn't want me to eat the peas," said Natalie finally, deciding that the unwanted portion of her lunch had been taken away by a higher power.

"Natalie Forester, I have never heard anything so ridiculous in all my life!" Lily replied back. Before she could continue to lecture her daughter, a bunch of men and women in nondescript black suits came into the back room of the shop.

"Is L. Forester present?" asked one, giving the name that been on the report as the owner of the lease.

"That's me—Lily Forester," said Lily. "Is there a reason why you've barged into my shop? We're closed right now."

"Ms. Forester, my name is Agent Smith. I work with the FBI, and we've recently received some reports of suspicious activities on this premise. Has anything unusual happened in the past hour or so?" continued the man, not acting like he'd heard Lily at all. In fact, he hadn't even really looked at her yet.

Lily debated about whether or not to mention Natalie's peas disappearing.

"Really, ma'am—has _anything_ odd happened recently?" asked another of the officers. "Nothing you say could surprise us."

"Well, Agent—"

"Barnett," answered the woman at Lily's pause.

"Agent Barnett, the only thing that I can think of would be that my daughter's peas just disappeared from her plate. Vanished." Lily paused, waiting for them to laugh (or worse). What she hadn't expected was for someone to call out her name.

"Lily?" asked a new, incredulous voice. "Lily Evans?" A woman stepped forward, staring at her in utter confusion.

"I've not been called 'Lily Evans' in over fifteen years," replied Lily. The woman looked vaguely familiar, so she asked, "Do I know you, ma'am?"

"Christina Carrow, Lily. We went to school together for six years!"

"Wait, she's a witch?" asked Barnett, looking at Carrow. "There aren't any magical store owners registered in the market anymore—the last one was Jerry's sister, and she moved back east, remember?"

Lily gaped—they thought she was a _witch_? Were these people even really from the FBI?

"Not just any witch, I think," said Carrow, still looking at Lily in shock. "She's Lily Potter, Graham."

"My name is Lily _Forester_," said Lily, getting over her shock, "and I am not a—a _witch_. Of all the ridiculous things—"

"Wait, Lily Potter? As in Lily and James Potter, the parents Harry Potter? _Dead_ Lily Potter?" asked Barnett.

"If she's dead, then I obviously am not her!" said Lily. "I mean, Jesus, what's going on here? My daughter's peas vanish because she doesn't want to eat them and then a bunch of people storm in and mistake me for a dead woman! And—"

"So you're not Lily Potter, wife of James Potter and mother of Harry Potter?" asked Barnett, looking at Lily carefully. He saw it now—the red hair, a similar face to pictures he remembered. He'd been thirteen when the Potters had died and even though Voldemort had kept his campaigns in Europe, his demise had been international news for weeks.

"No! I'm Lily _Forester_, wife of James _Forester_ and mother of Harry and Natalie _Forester_," said Lily angrily. "But my son died in Wales in 1981, and—"

"1981?" asked Smith. "No, you know what? This is insane. Mrs. Whatever-Your-Name-Is—"

"_Forester_," insisted Lily.

"Mrs. Forester, you need to come with us. You, your daughter, and your husband too."

"What! No! That's ridiculous, none of us have done anything—"

"I'm sorry, but this is too much of a coincidence. You say you've got a son called Harry that died in 1981? And your husband's name is James? If you come with us we can sort out what is either a remarkable coincidence or a serious crime." Lily paused, staring at the man in shock. "Really, Mrs. Forester—the more you hesitate the guiltier you seem."

"I—_fine_. I want this cleared up today though," said Lily. "This is _ridiculous_." Lily quickly cleaned up her daughter, grabbed her purse, and was almost pushed out the door. "What about my employees? I'll need to tell them something—"

"We'll take care of it," said Barnett. "For now, grab onto this, please." He held out a length of rope.

"Is this a joke?" Lily asked blankly.

"Portkey," said Barnett. "You'll see what I mean in a minute." Against her better judgment, Lily held on to her daughter and the rope. As she was transported to what she would later learn was the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's offices in Portland, Oregon, she thought she heard Agent Carrow's strong voice intoning the phrase 'oblivion' to her employees.

* * *

_August 17, 1995 – American DMLE Offices, Portland, Oregon, United States – 1:38 PM_

"James!" shouted Lily as she ran up to her husband, who was being escorted in by two people she didn't recognize.

Lily had spent the time between when she'd arrived and when her husband walked in waiting in a small room. There had been coloring books and crayons for Natalie, and though there had also been magazines for her she hadn't been able to read them. The events that had passed since her daughter had come home for lunch were running through her mind—Natalie's disappearing peas, a bunch of law enforcement officials barging into her store, being called a witch and a dead woman, the officers somehow knowing about Harry and James but not her family's surname, and now all the time she'd spent in the waiting room.

"Daddy!" shouted Natalie, who latched on to James.

"Hey, Peach," said James, using his daughter's nickname. "Your mum and I have to talk, okay? Can you go back and color for a while, please?"

Had this been a normal day Natalie probably would have argued, but as it were she decided that it was best to just listen to her daddy.

"Lily, look, something's off here. I called the corporate lawyer our hospital hires to cover the tenured staff and told him what these people told me, and he basically said that he had no power to practice law with these people, and that we should just listen to them."

"What kind of lawyer says that?" muttered Lily.

"All kinds, apparently. I called two more and told them that someone calling themselves 'Head Auror Jansen' wanted to arrest me and they said to, and I quote the last one, 'listen to what she has to say'—so who _are_ these people? We have rights, and yet no wants to go against them to enforce them?"

"Maybe we should just talk to them, James. I mean—well, we'd probably be able to leave sooner."

"Maybe," said James quietly, "but I don't like that we've done _nothing_ and they've brought us in."

"And by magic," said Lily. "I mean, that's what it has to be, right? We were in Seattle and now we're in _Portland!_ That's a six-hour car trip! I don't know how else to explain it, James, I really don't!" James hugged his wife, sensing that she was near (or perhaps had long ago passed) her breaking point. He mumbled words of nonsense, and then watched as a tall black man entered the room. Behind him was a woman of about Lily's age with flyway curly black hair and a warm smile.

"James and Lily?" asked the woman. "My name is Cate Wilson, and I'm a Healer with the American Auror Corps. Would you mind if I ran a few scans on you?"

"What is a Healer?" asked James. Cate raised her eyebrows at the other man in the room. The man frowned and then replied.

"Sort of like a doctor, James, except with magic."

"And who are you?" asked James, sneering at the man. _Like a doctor with magic, eh? This is beyond ridiculous._

"Victor Foster. I'm a Senior Auror and I've been assigned to head your case. It was supposed to be Christina, but the chief thinks that because she knows your wife that's not a wise idea."

"Is that the red-haired woman?" asked Lily. "I _don't_ know her, and she called me by the wrong name. But, you know what? Fine. Run your 'magical scans' and whatever else, and just let us go home, please," she said.

"Of course, Lily," said Cate. The Healer wasn't really comfortable calling them by their first names, but their last names were something of a mystery—to them, at least. All of the wards on this room had identified the two adults as James and Lily Potter, and the child as Natalie Forester. The main work area that the Aurors congregated in to discuss cases was flooded with ideas about why that was. It was her job to make sure that there were no natural or magically caused medical reasons for the Potters' identity crisis.

Lily watched as the woman—Cate, she remembered—waved a stick at James and muttered a bit of nonsense. Before Lily could say anything—_what are you doing?_, _what is that stick?_, _is this a joke?_—a piece of paper appeared out of thin air. The woman snatched it up and, without pausing to marvel that the paper had just _appeared_ there, like—_don't say it, magic isn't real_—she read it.

"Fuck."

"Cate? What?" Victor stared at the Healer, who was normally reserved around patients. She cared, yes, but wasn't one to react so violently.

"Fifty-eight percent of his memories are false," said Cate, looking intently at the sheet. "Which, given that James Potter would be thirty-six, and James Forester says that he's thirty-six, would be about the first twenty-one years of his life."

"So fifteen years before now… Oh, no…" said Victor, realizing that James Potter—for, with this new information, he was now sure that this was really who this man was—couldn't remember anything of his childhood in England. Or, rather, he probably could, but they were fake memories, probably implanted by a Death Eater. _But why would a Death Eater want James and Lily Potter—but not their son—out of the way? Merlin, I wish this were still just a case of two parents abandoning their kid._

"Let me run the scan on Lily, then," said Cate, and before Lily could even really process what the two Americans had been talking about the woman was waving her stick at Lily and snatching up a piece of paper. The woman swore again, this time more colorfully, and said it was the same deal.

"Jesus… You stay here, I'm gonna get Jansen—and probably Romano… and maybe even Kirkpatrick…Merlin, Cate."

"I know, man," Cate said to her retreating colleague. She turned back to the Potters.

"What the hell is going on?" asked James.

"Mr. Potter—"

"Forester!"

"James," said Cate in a placating tone, "our scans have revealed that someone has tampered with your memories of the first twenty-one years of your life."

"I think I would know if what I remembered wasn't real," snapped James. "And I don't see how you could know that anyway."

"I checked with a spell, James," said Cate patiently. She went on to try and give an explanation as to how the spell worked, what it checked for, and even a little bit about magic in general, as the man didn't seem to know anything. _I'm explaining magic to Harry Potter's parents_, thought Cate incredulously. _I didn't sign on for this._

After what seemed like forever, Victor Foster came back with a short, balding man and a woman with short red hair and a cane. Both looked to be in their mid-forties.

"Why haven't they been given dosages of a memory restoring potion yet?" snapped the short man, glaring at Wilson. She stiffened.

"I need to check them more extensively before I just give them a strong potion like that," she replied. "Get Healers Turner or Valencia up here to help me. We need to check James for any bugs he might have and Lily for the same and for pregnancy and early menopause."

"Wilson, there's no time for—"

"_Don't_ tell me how to do my job, Romano," snapped Cate.

"Cate, he's not trying to," said the woman with a cane, "but you must realize that finding out how in the world this could have happened is a big deal. Turner and Valencia are on their way down, and until then you can start running diagnostics on the Potters. Aurors Barnett and Miller are going to watch the kid while you're working on the adults."

"This stays strictly internal," said Romano, picking up where Kelly Jansen had left off. "Until we know who is responsible for this—whether it's an individual, the state, or someone else—nothing leaves this office. The Potters don't leave, my people who know about this don't leave, and anyone else in the loop is kept here and monitored.

"And by the way, Wilson, keep your trap shut this time." Cate winced, remembering the _one time_ in training that she had accidentally spilled details on a case to a reporter. It had severely compromised the investigation and her job, and although it was mostly a non-issue with Jansen, her immediate boss, and all of her co-workers, Romano brought it up every time something big happened.

"You can't just keep us here," said Lily. "We have rights. We're American citizens. James' uncle helped us get citizenship here."

"James's uncle?" asked Jansen, turning around. _Did the guy who did this stick around?_

"Yeah, my great uncle, Brian Forester," replied James triumphantly. Maybe after talking to Uncle Brian these people would leave his family alone! "He's a British-American diplomat. You can check through government databases to find him, yeah? Maybe he'll convince you to stop messing with us," he said, muttering the last bit.

"What department does he work through?" asked Jansen distractedly, writing down information so she could have someone search through the records for James's "uncle."

"Er… I'm not sure. I don't know that much about his job, actually," admitted James. "He visits on Nat's birthday and a few times each summer… We usually just talk about our family—the shop, my work, and Nat's activities."

Jansen raised an eyebrow. "Okay. What's his full name?"

"Brian Albus Forester," said Lily distractedly, as she was being prodded by the wand of Cate Wilson.

Jansen turned to Romano. "You know any wizards off the top of your head who've got that name?"

"Probably another kid named after Britain's favorite Light wizard," said Romano in dismissive manner.

"Yeah," replied Jansen, "except why would someone named after a Light wizard—and therefore presumably from a Light family—hide the parents of the Light's biggest hero?" She paused and then continued. "I'll get Stephens to research Brian Forester; he was on the team that integrated the records with the other departments."

"I'll be in my office," replied Romano. "Oh, and Kelly? I'm calling in some favors at the British Ministry to ask about Portkey travel during times around the kid's birthday. You never know who might pop up." Jansen nodded. If one of her Aurors requested the same information, it would take two months of forms to get it from the British Magical Transportation Department. If Romano asked his ex-girlfriend's sister's husband's cousin, he could get it in thirty minutes.

* * *

_August 17, 1995 – American DMLE Offices – 3:02 PM (slightly over one hour later)_

James and Lily were sitting side-by-side on one end of a conference table. On the other side were two men and a woman, Cate Wilson and her fellow Aurors Corps Healers, Cyrus Turner and Del Valencia.

"So if this potion works — gives us our 'real' memories back — it'll knock us out for how long?"

"However long it takes you to accept that the memories are real," Del replied to Lily's question.

"And what if what we remember now is real?"

"It's not going to give us _new_ memories though, is it?" asked James. He would admit that he had been a little intrigued by the Healers' magical medicine — some of it seemed far easier than the stuff he had to do to his patients — but how far could magic go in messing up one's psyche? It worried him. A lot.

"No," said Cyrus adamantly. "It only restores what should already be there." James and Lily looked at each other. Both knew that if they didn't go for this, the 'what if' questions they would ask themselves could haunt them forever.

"Okay," James agreed. "We'll do it."

Soon after that, Lily took the potion. To spare Natalie the trauma of both parents being unreachable (once a patient took the potion the trance couldn't be reversed or broken) James would wait until Lily had recovered to take his dose.

* * *

_September 1, 1995 – Hogwarts Express, King's Cross Station, London, England – 10:40 AM_

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Nashira were walking down the corridor with their trunks. Ron and Hermione soon split off to go the Prefects' compartment, leaving Harry wondering whom he was going to sit with.

"You can sit with us, I guess," said Fred, who was leading the way. Before the group could run much further, a small blur rammed into Nashira's side. She let out an 'oof' and paused before she hugged what Harry now saw was a small boy.

"Euan!" she said with a wide grin. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Nasha, you know I'm eleven now," said the boy sternly. Harry realized that it must be Euan Abercrombie, Tonks's half-brother.

"Of course," said Nashira in a mock-grave tone. "Eleven going on thirty, eh? Have you got a place to sit?"

"Can I sit with you?" he asked, suddenly pasting on a wounded-puppy look. Nashira smiled and messed up his hair.

"Of course! Follow me; we're still trying to find a place." Euan followed and looked at Fred and George with recognition, Ginny with curiosity, and Harry with what looked to be fright before following along. The group eventually ended up sitting with Neville Longbottom from Harry's year and Luna Lovegood from Ginny's. It was cramped, especially after Lee Jordan joined them, but the conversation flowed (despite Euan's apparent fear of Harry).

Soon enough they arrived at Hogwarts, where Euan was sorted into Gryffindor and their new toad-like Defense teacher was introduced.

* * *

_September 7, 1995 – American DMLE Offices, Portland, Oregon, United States – 4:05 AM_

Finally, after three weeks — the last of which had been full of tossing and turning and screaming — Lily woke up. It was at four in the morning, but James, who had been at a nearby hotel with his daughter, was there in fifteen minutes all the same.

"James!" Lily yelled when she saw him. Spells and potions had kept her body in stasis, so it was only as if she'd been sleeping for the night. She ran up and embraced her husband.

Before Lily could open her mouth again, Healer Valencia intervened.

"Lily, don't say anything. It could make his trance take longer."

"I — _fine_," she said, looking deeply distressed. "But, James, you've got to take that potion — _now_. I need to find my baby boy," she sobbed, grabbing onto her husband. James's eyes widened. Immediately, he asked for his goblet of potion and was soon in the same trance Lily had been in.

While was James was led to another room to take the potion, Natalie, who had gone with James, saw her mum and ran over, screaming for her. Lily picked up her daughter and buried her face in the girl's hair.

"Oh, my beautiful little girl," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"Mummy? Don't cry. You're awake again; it's a happy day!"

"Yes, I suppose in the end it is, isn't it?" said Lily, thinking of all she had lost and would now regain.

The Aurors and Healers gave Lily time to clean up and, though part of the trance was reconciling what she had recovered with what she had thought to be the truth, she was also given time to adjust (with the requirement that she stay in the building). After a few hours, Natalie went back to sleep (four AM was tough on a girl that had just turned five) and Lily gave the hardest interview of her life. In it, she gave enough evidence (from testimony and by giving the Aurors her memories) to free one man, imprison another for a very long time, and have another given the Dementor's Kiss.

In return, she was briefed on everything the small group of Aurors working on the investigation knew about her son and anything else, which included that the news had broken that Lily was Nashira's real mother.

"I have to go," said Lily, after hearing about the end of Triwizard Tournament and the death of Cedric Diggory. Like most of the British wizarding world, the American Aurors weren't exactly sure what had happened, only that Harry Potter was claiming that he had seen Lord Voldemort's rebirth. She personally didn't care what had happened—well, she did, but it wasn't nearly as important as simply finding her son and making sure he knew that she and James were there for him. _Except that James is in a trance right now, and Harry thinks I'm dead… I don't even know where to begin with this._

"Mrs. Potter, you _can't_ leave," said Head Auror Jansen, looking at her sympathetically. "Do you realize what sort of situation your testimony puts us in? If we don't proceed in the right manner, any number of things could happen. Our Secretary of Magic is already calling a meeting with the Canadian, French, and Swiss magical governments to figure out a way to approach this. Albus Dumbledore is… Well, you know how much of a public figure he is. Any case we bring against him has to proceed perfectly."

"I don't care," spat Lily. "Dumbledore is the last person on my mind! I need to find my son, and my daughter, and my friends — Albus bloody Dumbledore can wait." Even as she said it, however, she knew that it would have to wait. If Dumbledore had done this, had wrecked the lives of so many people, what else had he done? And if he were tipped off by her reappearance, what else would he be able to hide? How many more people were out there believing the fallacies that Dumbledore had woven?

And for that matter, without an investigation, who would believe her? Two dead people come back to life, only to accuse Britain's most-beloved Light wizard of using Dark magic to keep them away? And the Sirius and Peter situation was no better. How could they get people to believe that Sirius was innocent? Lily knew that he was innocent of everything, alleged Muggle killings or no, but for the past fourteen years Sirius had been reviled and called a Death Eater. And what about Remus? Had he been alone all those years? The Aurors had said something of him teaching at Hogwarts for one year before resigning in shame, but what about the years before and after that? And what of Andie and Dora? Were they okay? Not knowing was killing her.

"Why don't you talk to Natalie about this?" suggested Jansen. "I'll try and see what's happening on the political side of things, okay?" Lily nodded and left to try and explain things to her youngest child.

* * *

"So the bad man who took away my brother and my sister and made you forget about them is Uncle Brian?" asked Natalie, wide-eyed. 

"Yes," said Lily. Natalie sniffled.

"But I like Uncle Brian. He's not bad!"

"Natalie, your daddy and I didn't think that he was bad before, but now we remember new things. I know it's hard to understand, but it's true. Just like how your peas disappearing was magic, and now Mummy and Daddy can do magic again, too."

"Where's brother-Harry, then?" asked Natalie. "I want to see him! And my sister, too!"

Lily sighed. She had explained—hopefully in terms that a five-year-old could understand—about Harry, Nashira, and Dumbledore. She hadn't gotten into specific spells, details on Voldemort, or on Nashira's different father, but she felt that Natalie was starting to understand. Lily's altered memories hadn't included Nashira, so having a sister was new to Natalie. (Of course, Natalie had known about Harry, but not that he was alive, so that was new as well.) Lily was rather impressed that her daughter hadn't simply thrown a tantrum and refused to believe her at all.

Lily then explained to her daughter that Harry didn't yet know about the three Potters who lived in America and that someone would have to tell them of their existence before they could see him or Nashira. Natalie whined about wanting to see them, and was surprised when her mother didn't immediately acquiesce.

"_Fine_," said Natalie, "I'll wait. But not very long, okay?"

"I hope it's not long either," said Lily as she hugged the girl.

* * *

**Next Time:** More Hogwarts scenes, the American magical government gets the ball rolling on freeing Sirius and building a solid case against Dumbledore, and some other stuff (a girl's got to keep some of it to herself, you know). 

**A/N:** I actually went further into the year in my outline, but I thought that this was a good place to leave off. Also, in case anyone is annoyed by the large number of original characters in this chapter, the American Aurors and Healers and whatnot won't stick around long.

This chapter's title comes from the song "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac. I don't know them, I don't know J.K. Rowling, and I don't have any claim to any of the previously mentioned people's works.

Thank you to **codenamelily**, the new beta for this story! I really appreciate all of her help. She's also helping me refine the first two chapters, so I think that soon I'll have revised versions of them posted (not with any new information, just with clearer ideas and story progression).

**Please review! I would really, really appreciate it.**

Thanks,

Orion in the Sky :)


	4. Our Hopes and Expectations

_The Righteous and the Wicked _by Orion in the Sky  
_Chapter 4: Our Hopes and Expectations_

* * *

_September 3, 1995 - Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom, Hogwarts - 1:02 PM_

Nashira Tonks squirmed in her seat. Harry had related the tale of his first Umbridge-led Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson in detail, and she found herself nervous at the beginning of class. Already side effects of the articles in the _Daily Prophet_ were finding her at school. Angelina, Alicia, and Patricia, her roommates, were acting strangely towards her. She supposed it was only natural to do so around an alleged murderer's daughter, but that didn't mean she had to like it. And the night before she had only made it worse by commenting that her biological father hadn't had a trial. Alicia had immediately squeaked out something ridiculous about eyewitnesses, with Patricia agreeing. Angelina, who apparently valued her friendship with Nashira more than the other two girls, remained silent and even partnered with Nashira in Potions (a class in which there were only three Gryffindors in their year—Angelina, Nashira, and Kenneth Towler).

Towler himself was a nonentity in their year, as his best friend was in Ravenclaw and therefore he spent most of his time away from his year mates. It was lucky for Nashira that she had at least one friend in Potions with her, for Snape, though he had always ignored her before, seemed to pull hatred out of nowhere entirely for her. During the lesson, thirty points had been taken from Gryffindor. Luckily, Angelina had not blamed her, and instead had gone on a tirade the moment they left the classroom about Snape's unfairness.

And now she was in Umbridge's room, and wondering just how this new teacher would treat her.

"Good afternoon, class," said Umbridge as she walked into the room. Her girlish tone grated, and there were only a few returned greetings. "Now, that will not do!" she said with a wide smile. Nashira tried not to shudder. George poked her in the side and when she turned she recognized that he desperately wanted to make fun of Umbridge.

"Shh," she whispered. She didn't want to risk a detention yet.

"I should like you to reply, 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge,'" the new professor continued. The seventh years shot her incredulous looks. They had heard from the other years about this, but hadn't thought she would subject _them_ to it. They were _seventh years_, for Merlin's sake! They were _adults_. It was _not on_.

"What the hell?" muttered Angelina, but when Umbridge again gave her opening greeting she answered respectfully.

Fred, George, Lee, and Nashira did not.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Black, that simply will not do!" said Umbridge gaily.

"Our apologies," said Lee graciously. "We just aren't used to such, er, _enthusiasm_ from the professors here," he added. Lee always had been the best at sweet-talking the group's way out of things.

Umbridge, however, wasn't buying it. "Another shortcoming in the Hogwarts education system, I fear," she said, her face distorted into a frog-like smirk. "I shall have to see about working with the teachers to improve their abilities to control the students."

Nashira's teeth clenched. Hogwarts had the _best_ education in Europe! Everyone knew it. She couldn't believe the nerve of Umbridge. However, she did remember something else that the woman had said that needed to be stopped.

"And it's not Black," Nashira quickly added. She had no desire to change her name this late in life, unless it was to 'Weasley.'

"Is your father not Sirius Black?" asked Umbridge. "Or do you go by Evans?" Her tone was of polite curiosity, though she looked simply delighted in the fact that Nashira's face was turning slightly red.

"No," Nashira said. Before she could continue, Umbridge spoke again.

"Oh, it must Evans-Black, then! Hyphenation _is_ the standard for children born to unmarried couples, isn't it? It just slipped my mind."

_Yeah, I'll just bet it 'slipped your mind,'_ Nashira thought. "I go by 'Tonks,' actually," she said aloud, her face flaming with anger at Umbridge's obvious enjoyment.

"But that's not your name!" said Umbridge, looking scandalised.

"It has been for as long as—"

"Ah, but _legally_ it is not, is it?" said Umbridge, and her smug triumph brought back sour images of Percy. Nashira had run into him once at the Ministry after his split from the Weasleys but before that blasted newspaper article had come out, and he had been entirely too smug about his 'right choice in supporting the Ministry.'

"Still, I would appreciate it if you used it," Nashira asked as her mind came back to the present.

"I'm afraid that would be granting privileges that you don't have," said Umbridge gravely. "So I shall call you Miss Black for now, yes? All right," she finished before waiting for an answer. The lesson continued while Nashira steamed. After the mockery of a class was over, Nashira walked a good distance away from the classroom before growling in frustration.

"The _nerve!_" she shouted angrily. "'_Legally, it's not your name, is it?_'" Nashira mocked. "Stupid bint! And I don't even know _why_ she brought it up! What a bloody _stupid_ thing to do. Even _Ceres Yaxley_ is creative enough to make up insults about _me_, but my _name?_ Merlin, what an idiot." Nashira continued for a great deal longer, her friends listening and occasionally adding in comments. She took a breath when they reached the Fat Lady, and Fred interrupted.

"You done?"

"Possibly," she said haughtily. "I'll let you know."

* * *

_September 3, 1995 - Seventh Year Girls' Dorm, Gryffindor Tower - 8:08 PM_

The letter was small and thin. Nashira had expected a pages-long apology, but not something this short. It was on nice parchment and sealed with, surprisingly, the Black crest. Staring up at her were the words Toujours Pur in red wax. Thinking it was no more than a ploy to remind her of their blood relationship, Nashira opened the letter.

_Dearest Nashira,_ the letter began. "Yeah, right," she said skeptically. There was no answer, as she was in an empty dormitory, but she imagined the pleading face of the letter's author and continued reading despite strong feelings of resentment. She and writer had not been close for the first eleven years of her life, but during Nashira's illness and missed year of schooling they had bonded. Her recent betrayal had stung, strongly.

_Though the article in the _Daily Prophet _may have led you to believe certain things of me, I wish for you to know that I have never acted in a way that I thought detrimental to you. To that end, I have left my husband—who is responsible for the letter's printing and many other Unforgivable crimes—and am currently staying in a Black family home. Certain wards are in place that will not allow me to speak the house's proper name, but I can tell you that it is a house that you are familiar with. You and your sister Nymphadora spent a great deal of time here this summer._

"Surely she can't mean headquarters," Nashira said aloud. She quickly looked around, trying to see if anyone had entered the room when she wasn't looking, but it was still clear. Admonishing herself for mentioning something related to the Order at school—where it was hard to tell just who was listening to 'private' conversations—she read on. There was only one more line, and the closing.

_I have much more to tell you the next time we meet._

_With Love,_  
_Narcissa Black._

"Heaps more to tell me, apparently," she said to herself, still stunned. That her aunt was at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was shocking in and of itself, but after Nashira remembered that the only way to get into a Fidelius Charm-protected home was with the permission of the Secret-Keeper, she was absolutely astounded.

Nashira stared at the letter. She wanted so much to be mad at Narcissa, to have someone besides Lucius Malfoy (and, knowing her uncle's loyalties, possibly You Know Who) to blame, but she couldn't. This was not her aunt's fault. Nashira penned a letter back stating her beliefs as such, and correspondence between the two was once more renewed.

* * *

_September 18, 1995 - Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts - 8:04 PM_

"I _hate_ Snape," said Harry as he sat next to Hermione on a couch in the common room. "And Malfoy, and every other Slytherin that ever _existed_," he finished. Hermione patted him on the arm comfortingly.

"Tonks was a Slytherin," said Ron without looking up from his quidditch magazine. "You don't hate her." Hermione let out a little sigh at Ron's statement.

"Yeah, I don't hate Tonks, but that's not even what I meant and you know it. Can't I just complain in peace?" Harry said with a glare at Ron.

"Complain about what?" asked Nashira. She and Lee Jordan were approaching the trio. Nashira's expression was of polite interest, but Lee's was a bit of a smirk. Harry wondered if he needed to be wary while he ate his meals the next day, as Lee Jordan smirking could mean only one thing - a successful prank. He stopped his pondering to answer Nashira's question.

"I've just been at a detention with Snape," Harry said.

"Umbridge gave you the night off?" asked Nashira. Her tone was half-sarcastic, half-curious. She (and the rest of the school) had known of his multiple, unjustified detentions, but Harry had been careful to keep the specific details to himself. Though he and his sister were bonding, he didn't feel comfortable talking about his to her. Likewise, he felt uncomfortable mentioning it to Ron or Hermione, though he knew both suspected something. If they talked it out they could probably deduce most of what had been going on, but Ron and Hermione were fighting more than ever lately, so that was unlikely. This relieved Harry, because he hardly thought that he needed to add to their problems.

"Yeah," he replied to Nashira's question. He paused to remember where he had been in his reply. "So I was with Snape in the Potions room, cleaning cauldrons, and Malfoy was there too, though I don't know _why_, and kept making all sorts of comments about everything from my hair to my parents. Snape acted like he couldn't hear him."

"And this is a surprise?" asked Nashira.

"Well, no. But I got another detention for telling Malfoy to - er - go away."

Lee snickered. "I'm sure that's exactly how you said it, too," he said with a knowing grin.

"Well, that's hardly the point," said Harry, though he couldn't help but smile back.

"Oh, Harry, you didn't curse him, did you?" asked Hermione, who looked worried.

"I might've," replied Harry vaguely. Deciding to be straightforward with his friend, he continued. "But it was an accident, honest—I didn't even use my wand." The reaction to this statement wasn't what he'd been expecting. Rather than see amusement on Ron's face and mild reproach on Hermione's, he saw both look surprised.

Nashira coughed. "Accidental magic at fifteen? _That's_ normal," she said, obviously sarcastic.

"Wait, what? Isn't it? I mean, that kind of stuff happens around me when I get really upset, and with what Malfoy was saying about - well, he deserved it, anyway."

"That stuff might happen to you, maybe, but not to most people after they turn eleven. For some people, their magic doesn't settle until they're thirteen, but that's _really_ rare, Harry. For you to still have this problem at fifteen is—well—odd. In all kinds of ways," said Nashira. Harry looked at Hermione, who nodded in agreement.

There was a loud bang from the other side of the common room, but before any of the trio could look at the cause Nashira kept talking. Harry looked over and saw that the bang was caused by some sort of demonstration that Fred and George were running, and laughed internally. Apparently, Lee was smirking because he thought that he and Nashira could keep them distracted. It wasn't long before Nashira's talk about her last accidental magic episode—which had happened when she was twelve—stopped distracting Hermione.

"What _are_ they doing?" said Hermione, going into prefect-mode and walking over to Fred and George. Luck, however, was not on her side as the demonstration was finished. Lee and Nashira congratulated each other and gave quick good-byes to the group as they walked over to the part of the room that Fred and George occupied. Harry laughed and Ron cringed as Hermione walked back, looking angry.

"Those two!" she huffed. "And Nashira and Lee are no better, distracting us like that! Honestly, I should give them all detention—"

"You wouldn't do that—"

"—would you, Hermione?" asked the twins. Harry could only tell that George had spoken first because he had his arm around Nashira. Harry ignored the by-play between Hermione and the twins in favor of regaling Ron with the tale of what exactly his magic had done to Malfoy.

And, honestly, he didn't understand why Ron was so shocked or why Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall had been so mad. Harry's magic had only made Malfoy's mouth disappear.

Really, the world was better off now that Draco Malfoy couldn't insult other people's dead mothers.

* * *

_September 19, 1995 - The Minister for Magic's Office - 10:09 AM_

Cornelius Fudge had gone through an interesting morning. He had Apparated in to work and walked into his secretary's office to find the leaders of the American, Canadian, French, and Swiss magical governments demanding a meeting with him. They were not to be put aside, so he granted them an audience. In addition to each leader's bodyguard, there were three American Aurors, two Healers, and two people in cloaks. (At the time, he hadn't noticed the small child that accompanied the cloaked strangers.) The first thought that had run through his mind was a question of just what would make each leader cut down their usual entourages so much.

He, along with Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour, met with the fifteen foreigners in a secure conference room. After the room was secure, the two people in cloaks had removed their coverings, and Cornelius had been amazed. Ask him what he'd been expecting, and that would _not_ have been it. After confirming their identities in multiple ways, Fudge had almost pulled Harry Potter out of school. Deranged or not, the boy needed to know about this.

Actually, Fudge could actually understand why the boy was mad. Anyone with a family like that—secret half-siblings, parents with magically induced amnesia, hidden inheritances--well, they would be pretty messed up, for sure.

And then Kirkpatrick, the American Secretary of Magic, had pulled out a pensieve. The Potters had said a few things about Dumbledore that Cornelius had found hard to believe (Albus was getting older, yes, but evil? Hardly.) But the memories had been indisputable—indeed, they told a tale that was backed up completely when Amelia, completely disbelieving what she had seen, ordered Veritaserum to be delivered to the room. James and Lily Potter had taken it, and then no one had been doubt.

And then, as if two dead people that weren't really dead popping into his office hadn't been enough, another problem had been unleashed upon him. He had to arrest Albus Dumbledore. The Americans wanted to add charges of their own eventually—unlawful entry into the United States, unlawful use of glamour charms, among other things—but most of Dumbledore's crimes had been committed in Britain.

It wasn't a question of _how_ to arrest Dumbledore, as Rufus had pointed out. A blatant attack would not work, as Dumbledore was still one of the most skilled duelers in the world. A sneak attack (and when Rufus had said this Cornelius could almost see the cogs turning in his mind) would have a much higher chance of succeeding, and was their only choice.

The problem, then, was convincing the Aurors in charge of the attack (and, later on, the Wizengamot) of Dumbledore's guilt. Fudge knew that the public, at least, would not be trouble. He already had the _Daily Prophet_ eating out of his hands, and most of the people he governed over wouldn't even question him. But there were some that wouldn't be willing to just believe him about this. These were the same people who were now regularly going against his campaign to discredit Dumbledore and Harry.

Some of this had been said aloud, and it was only then that James Potter's temper was revealed.

"Alright, look, Minister," said Potter with a truly frightening look on his face, "this has got to stop."

"What has to stop?" asked Fudge, though he had a rather good idea of what the man meant.

"Everything you're doing against my son," said Potter. "All of it. The articles, the speeches, the subtle digs in the _Prophet_-just stop."

"Do you want your son to sound _believable_, then?" Fudge asked. "Do you want people to think his lies are _true?_ That He Who Must Not Be Named is _back_?"

"I want the truth of the matter to be found out," Potter said vehemently. "_Talk_ to him, have Aurors review his memories, but for fuck's sake stop this campaign against him." Mrs. Potter laid a hand on her husband's arm, and he took deep breaths to try and calm down.

"You're bullying a fifteen-year-old boy," said the redhead then. "Not a political opponent, and not even Dumbledore—a _boy_. When did that become all right for a grown man to do, and especially for his own government to encourage?"

And Fudge sighed.

"You don't understand, madam. Your son entered himself into the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and then lied about doing it."

"Are you sure that someone else didn't enter him? That Harry wasn't telling the truth?"

"Rita Skeeter interviewed him on the matter-"

"If you're telling me that you trust Rita Skeeter's reporting skills-especially when you know how she used to be during the first war, maligning even your own work in Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes-then obviously I have overestimated you, Minister," said Lily coolly. Fudge remembered attending the Potters' funeral, and how people spoke of Lily Potter's cool temper and strong spirit, and rather wished that he hadn't spoke up.

"Madam, I really don't think-"

"Obviously you don't understand," said James, taking over for his wife. "_Right now_ I could call a meeting of the Wizengamot and resolve this. You do remember the Potter seat on that body, yes? We call Harry in, watch his memories of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and everyone will know what happened. But right now we're willing to give you a chance to fix this yourself. Keep talking and that's gone."

And so the meeting ended with Rufus making plans to capture Dumbledore, and with Fudge preparing two issues to bring forth in front of the Wizengamot-those of Dumbledore's crimes and Harry Potter's wild story.

* * *

_September 19, 1995 - The Secret Headquarters of Lord Voldemort (Location Unknown) - 6:50 PM_

"You requested an audience, Lucius?" hissed the Dark Lord. Lucius Malfoy kept his cringe internal by sheer will.

"Yes, my Lord," he said, remaining bowed near the hem of his Lord's robes.

"Stand and _speak_, then," the Dark Lord said impatiently.

"Something is going on in the Ministry," said Lucius promptly. "A large group of Americans met with Fudge for nearly five hours today, causing me to miss a meeting with him. I instructed one of his secretaries to contact me, only to have her floo my house at four this afternoon and tell me that Fudge would not be available for the next week, at least."

"Is that all you have?" asked Voldemort, his tone dangerous. Internally, Lucius winced. He had known when he arrived that this was a bad idea. The only thing worse than arriving with such a small amount of information would have been saving it for another time. He had chosen the option he thought less likely to get him killed, and he had taken it.

That didn't mean that the Cruciatus Curse cast upon him hurt any less, though.

* * *

_September 23, 1995 - Albus Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts – 10:23 AM_

"Professor McGonagall said that you wanted to see me, sir?" asked Harry as he sat in a plush chair in Dumbledore's office. He had been working on a Potions essay in the library when his head of house had sought him out, and he was brimming with curiosity. Maybe this had something to do with why Umbridge had suddenly ceased hostilities against he and the Gryffindors who stood by him? Or why Dumbledore wouldn't look at him anymore?

"That is correct, Harry," said Dumbledore. He said it as he looked at a paper on his desk, and Harry was immediately frustrated with Dumbledore's lack of eye contact. More sure now than ever that the headmaster was angry with him, he clenched his jaw.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Minister Fudge has asked to see the both of us today," said Dumbledore. Harry blinked at the statement. _Fudge_ wanted to see them?

"Doesn't mean I'm going," Harry muttered angrily.

"Harry, we must go," said Dumbledore, who sounded disappointed in Harry. "The Minister wishes to start a campaign against Lord Voldemort. Our cooperation is essential."

"Er, what?" Harry replied, completely stunned.

"You may read the letter I received," Dumbledore said as he handed over a parchment that bore the Ministry's seal. Harry's eyes went progressively wider as he read the letter.

"He wants to apologise," said Harry, stunned even more. "That's, that's—"

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, looking to Harry's left.

"Yeah," said Harry. His stunned demeanor had evaporated at the reminder that Dumbledore still wouldn't look at him.

"Let us depart, then. This portkey will take us to the main lobby of the Ministry."

Harry hesitated only a moment before taking hold of the portkey. He couldn't help but be nervous over the offer—what if Fudge had something more sinister planned, once he got them to the Ministry?

Then again, Dumbledore was with him. How could things go wrong?

* * *

And even though it's shorter than most chapters, this is where it ends. The next part will probably be longer than usual though, if that makes you feel better. (The reason for this is that I looked at my outline and this was really the best part to split up the chapters, because the next one is huge in both word count and plot development.)

Many heartfelt thanks to **codenamelily** for being an awesome beta. Thanks also to **rosiegirl**, **HarrySirius Fan**, and **fopalup1** for reviewing the third chapter! **If you have time, please review!** I love each one. (Really. My LiveJournal friends list knows this all too well!)

This chapter's title comes from the song "Starlight" by Muse. I have no rights to it or to Harry Potter.

Chapter five, _Black Holes and Revelations_, is under development! (Bonus points to anyone who catches the link between this chapter's title and the next.)

Thanks for reading,  
Orion in the Sky :)


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